


Age of Heroes

by redrobinhood



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Didn't Leave the Jedi Order, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Force-Sensitive Clones (Star Wars), Gen, Not A Fix-It, Order 66
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25596031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redrobinhood/pseuds/redrobinhood
Summary: Kenobi and Cody; Skywalker and Rex; Jedi and Clone, together. And so it seemed it would always be. But it is the end of the age of heroes, and a darkness is rising. As Obi-Wan Kenobi rushes to the aid of Mandalore, Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker embark on a mission to rescue Chancellor Palpatine. The game has been set, the pieces are lined up, and the dominoes are about to fall. [A retelling of Revenge of the Sith]
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 108
Kudos: 112





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.”  
> \- Revenge of the Sith novelization

The flash of blue came out of nowhere, slashing through the missile mid-air.

“General!”

“Cody, get down!”

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi turned to cover his clone troopers as they retreated to take cover from the suppressing fire. The war was going poorly on this front. Pinned down on a bridge with little to no cover, his legion was being picked off far too well. Obi-Wan ducked for cover with his troopers to kneel next to Commander Cody, the man whose life he had just saved. Blaster fire and explosions rocked the bridge around them.

“Anakin, where are you?”

“I’m right here. What are you doing down there?”

“We are taking cover. Now get down!”

Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one. The other half to Kenobi. The most powerful Jedi of his generation. Perhaps, the most powerful Jedi of any generation. And he knows it. Where Kenobi is deliberate, Skywalker is brash; his strategies bringing criticism from those who don’t know him. Those who do know him have learned to follow and watch as the pieces fall into place.

“You’re not serious! There’s only a thousand droids down there, tops.”

“What are you up to? Where’s Captain Rex?”

“We already finished our battle, so we decided to come help you with yours.”

Then there were the clones. Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker’s right-hand. A clone who had risen through the ranks by the means of his skill and tenacity. A cunning strategist, his absence marked one of the many rash plans that he and Skywalker were known for. Plans that would never have worked if not for the sheer will and trust of those executing them. He was matched by the man at Obi-Wan Kenobi’s side. Commander Cody was bred for duty. Trained to be a commander from birth, his skills in combat and strategy were nearly unmatched among the Grand Army of the Republic and had brought him the title of Marshal Commander, the highest rank achievable by a clone. His battle strategies had won many victories for the Republic, even in the face of what appeared to be impossible odds. And wherever Kenobi could be found on the battlefield, one would find Cody nearby.

“All right, I know better than to try and stop you. What’s your plan this time?”

“Stay here.”

And they do. They watch as Anakin Skywalker walks alone into the midst of the battle, unharmed and unopposed. They watch as the droids cease their fire and as the elusive tactical droid appears from the ranks. And they watch as the 501st Clone Legion rises from underneath the bridge to swarm the droid army. With a nod from Kenobi, Commander Cody rallies the 212th Legion to join the conflict as the battle is won for the Republic.

“Bravo, Anakin. You’ve done it again.”

“Oh, I can’t take all the credit. Your state of helplessness really sold them on my surrender talk.”

“Always glad to help, my friend.”

Kenobi and Skywalker; Commander Cody and Captain Rex; the 212th and the 501st Legions. Alone, forces to be reckoned with. Together, unstoppable. And so it seemed it would always be. As the Separatist forces are driven back from Yerbana it feels like nothing can break them apart. Kenobi and Cody; Skywalker and Rex; Jedi and Clone, together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired and heavily influenced by The Clone Wars, the Revenge of the Sith movie, and the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover. Some dialogue is taken directly from the source, with additions and cuts as needed for plot and pacing. Some (actually, many) scenes from the movie that do not change are cut or mentioned in passing since there is nothing more to add.


	2. Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “We’ll be fine as long as we stay together.”  
> – Obi-Wan Kenobi

The clones moved through the fallen ranks of droids, occasionally stopping to blast or otherwise incapacitate still functioning droid units. In the midst of them stood two stationary clones, one adorned in blue, the other in gold. Despite the smoke in the air and the smell of burnt flesh and circuits it was as close to peace as the officers had had in weeks.

“Thanks for the assist, Rex. It’s always a pleasure to fight with the 501st.”

“The pleasure is ours, Cody. Whatever it takes.” The unspoken words hung in the air. Whatever it takes to win, to save clone lives, to protect the Republic. But those three couldn’t coexist. Sometimes they would be lucky, and their victories were won with minimal casualties. More often, duty and the Republic came first. The clones were disposable. If even the Jedi could be discarded for the Republic, the clones were just ornaments to be marveled at and thrown away when the novelty has worn off.

Cody nodded. “Whatever it takes.”

Nearby, three Jedi stood looking towards Yerbana City. Two human males dressed in robes, one in black and one in white, and one togruta female, also dressed in black, wearing a loose tunic over a bodysuit not unlike that of the clones.

“What do you think is next?” Ahsoka Tano looked away from the city to Anakin Skywalker.

“I don’t know, Snips.” Anakin turned from the city, back towards the battleground on the bridge. In the smoke he could just make out the shapes of two men standing side-by-side in the carnage. “The men need to rest. We never anticipated the Outer Rim Sieges would last this long.”

“It is a siege, Anakin.” Obi-Wan Kenobi turned to follow his former padawan’s gaze. “Though I wouldn’t pass up a drink at Dex’s Diner right now.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but neither would I.” Anakin scoffed. He bent over slightly to elbow Ahsoka’s arm. “Might even slip you something under the table.”

“Anakin-.” Obi-Wan was cut off by the beep from Anakin’s comm. Anakin answered with triumphant glee.

“Skywalker here. What is it, Admiral?”

“Sir, we’ve just received a transmission from,” the Admiral Yularen paused to find the right words, “a person of interest. You had best take this transmission here in person.”

“We’ll be there shortly, Admiral.” Anakin turned to Ahsoka as Obi-Wan walked away to hail a gunship. “Guess that drink will have to wait.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Master.”

Captain Rex watched the LAAT/i take off, its door sealing around three unmistakable beings.

“Don’t get comfy, Codes. I think we just got our next assignment.”

Cody turned to follow Rex’s gaze. “I think you may be right, old boy. I have a feeling we’re not going to see each other for a while.”

* * *

The three Jedi moved quickly from the hanger to the briefing room, the padawan trailing slightly behind the two knights to accommodate the clones and officers rushing around the Venator.

The briefing room doors hadn’t fully opened when Anakin spoke. “All right, Admiral. What’s so important you brought us all the way back here?” 

Yularen gestured to the holotable, where three Mandalorians were displayed, each in the distinct armor of Death Watch.

“You-.“ Ahsoka started, interrupted by Obi-Wan, who lay a hand on her shoulder.

“Lady Bo-Katan.” Obi-Wan stepped forward graciously. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

“I have urgent information for you.” Bo-Katan removed her helmet and turned towards the Jedi. “The Nite Owls and I have located the renegade Sith Lord, Maul. If we move swiftly, I believe we can capture him.”

“How did you come by this information?” Obi-Wan’s calm voice betrayed none of his racing thoughts.

“We have been tracking Maul’s movement for several months. One of my people was able to obtain some transmission codes from the Pykes on Oba Diah, which helped us pinpoint some of his previous locations. And now, we know that Maul is on Mandalore in the city of Sundari.”

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged a look. Obi-Wan turned back first. “You’re certain of this?”

“He arrived two days ago.”

“So why not take him yourself?” Ahsoka cut in from behind her masters. “You know where he is.”

Bo-Katan’s scowl morphed into a look of shame. “I don’t have the numbers needed for a siege.” The Jedi generals had expected as such, and Obi-Wan gave a small nod for her to continue. “Without a complete lockdown of the city, Maul will escape again. That’s why I’m proposing a joint operation. If we are successful, you’ll have Maul and I’ll have Mandalore.”

Obi-Wan raised his hand to stroke his beard “If Republic forces aid you in your assault it will break treaties that are 100 years old. We will effectively be drawn into yet another war.”

Bo-Katan shrugged. “What’s one more?”

“Well,” Anakin cut in this time, “we’re not finished with our first one yet.”

“I will advise the Jedi Council of this development.” Obi-Wan took a step back from the hologram. “We need to be sure of our decision on this matter.”

“There’s no time!” Bo-Katan slammed a fist down into the palm of her other hand. “Maul’s influence on Mandalore is destroying my people. He murdered my sister! I thought she meant something to you.”

“She did,” Obi-Wan’s expression fell for a moment before he regained his composure, “and still does. But I cannot allow my feelings to cloud my judgment. The Council will decide what our course of action will be. I will inform you of our decision in due time.”

“Maul will have escaped long before your council reaches a decision! Mandalore needs action, now!” The hologram faded and the room was left in silence.

“Master Kenobi, with all due respect, shouldn’t finding Maul be a priority right now?” Ahsoka stepped out of the shadows of the room to join her superior officers at the holotable. “We believe that there is a Sith Lord in the Senate. Wouldn’t Maul know who this Sith is and his goal? This is an opportunity that we can’t afford to miss.”

Obi-Wan sighed and smiled ruefully at Ahsoka. “I agree with you, Ahsoka. But this matter is clouded by the dark side of the force. We need to be certain that this invasion will be worth the risk. The Council must consider the matter before we take any action.”

“Of course, Master Kenobi.” Ahsoka sighed after the Jedi master left the room. She had no faith in the supposed wisdom of the Jedi Council. Not anymore.

Ahsoka was still unsure if rejoining the Order had been the right choice. Perhaps it had been one made out of fear, fear of the unknown world outside of the Order and the war. She would’ve lost everything. Not just her lightsaber and her rank, but her friends; Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, hell- the entire 501st. She would have never found the courage to look Rex in the eye and tell him that she was walking away. Not when she would see his face every day in the clones around the galaxy. Not after all they’d been through.

Anakin lay his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it softly. “I hope this isn’t about that drink.”

Ahsoka forced a small smile. “It’s not, Master. I’m just,” she stopped to find the right words, “concerned about the ability of the Council to make the right decision.”

“Obi-Wan will convince them.” He said it so confidently that Ahsoka believed him. He had never lied to her or hidden his thoughts. After her return to the Order, he had strived with her to find the peace that she needed to feel at home again. He had been the one to suggest her new robes. Still unconventional, some Jedi found black to be a troublesome color for a Jedi, but they reminded her of Anakin and the clones. The bodysuit had been specifically modified for her from one that the 501st had donated when the subject came up in their presence. Maybe the Council had betrayed her, but Anakin and the clones had always stood up for her. Even outside of the 501st. She had received apologies from Fox and Wolffe, though while she was sure that Wolffe’s was genuine, her own apology to him certainly was, she had a feeling that Rex had contributed to Fox’s. Or perhaps Cody, who was the man’s batchmate and the only clone officer in her immediate circle that had acted like nothing had changed between them. Maybe it hadn’t. He’d never hunted her down like the others. Though she had seen him try to deck Fox once at a military dinner after she had been restored as a padawan. That had also been the only time she’d seen Rex drink, and she wondered if the events were related.

“Of course, Master.” She followed Anakin and Admiral Yularen out of the briefing room and onto the bridge of the Venator. While the men discussed the battle and what lay in store for them, she walked over to the windows and watched the parade of gunships returning to the cruisers. One stream returning to her cruiser carrying the 501st, the other stream returning to the cruiser beside them carrying the 212th. She stayed at the window even after the lines of ships had ended, turning her gaze down to the planet below and letting her mind wander.

“How are you feeling, Commander?” Rex. She hadn’t noticed his arrival on the bridge, but she was certain he’d been there long enough to know what was being discussed. She could tell him that she was doing fine, even well, but he would’ve known that it was a lie. He’d told her once that the tips of her lekku twitched when she was lying. She didn’t believe him anymore. When she was younger, she’d try to hide her lekku when she was about to lie to him. She’d been awed at how Rex always seemed to know anyways, and a little ashamed when she realized why later. She’d move on from that now to believe that he just always knew. Maybe Jango Fett had been a mind-reader, more likely it was the Force. While the clones were not Force users, there had been many times where Ahsoka was sure that they were at least sensitive to it; knowing a brother had been hurt or died, beginning to execute orders before the command was given, the way Rex always knew when she was hurting.

“I feel uncertain, Rex. Why would Maul emerge from hiding now? And if the Jedi Council doesn’t approve an attack against him, what will he do? He must have a plan.”

Rex sighed. “I don’t have the answers, sir. But I believe that we will find out soon.”

“What do you mean?” Rex turned towards the back of the bridge and Ahsoka looked just in time to see the closed doors open to reveal a satisfied Obi-Wan.

“The attack on Mandalore has been approved.” Obi-Wan had just paused for a breath when a clone shot up from the command console.

“Sir! Grievous is attacking the capitol, he’s attacking Coruscant. General Shaak Ti is being dispatched to protect the Chancellor, but they need reinforcements!”

“How long until we can be there?” Anakin moved onto the command walkway to look down into the pits of the bridge.

“Within the hour, sir.” Another clone.

Anakin turned back to Obi-Wan. “You go to Mandalore, we’ll take care of Grievous. With any luck, this will all be over soon, and we can join you.”

Obi-Wan shook his head almost imperceptibly. “There’s no such thing as luck.”

“Good thing I taught Ahsoka better.” 

Obi-Wan smiled and turned to depart. 

“Obi-Wan.” Anakin called after him. Obi-Wan stopped and looked back. “May the Force be with you.”

“Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you.” And with that, Obi-Wan departed the bridge.

“Admiral Yularen, set a course for Coruscant. We leave as soon as Obi-Wan’s shuttle is clear.” Anakin walked to the end of the walkway to stand beside Ahsoka and Rex. All too soon, the stars outside the transparisteel began to blur as they entered hyperspace.

* * *

An hour later, two starfighters streaked over Coruscant. One yellow-grey, the other maroon-white. Only two, but two was enough. They dodged in and out of the debris, taking out a number of Buzz droids and Vulture droids, before coming to a stop in the hanger bay of the _Invisible Hand_.

In Coruscant’s atmosphere, gunships would bring the jetpack troopers of the 501st to the aid of citizens floundering in the aftermath of the attack and the weakened Coruscant Guard. Captain Rex would lead the effort to destroy all remaining droids as Commander Fox dealt with the civilian casualties.

Far away from Coruscant, a Venator pulled out of hyperspace over Mandalore. The hanger bay doors slide open, and gunships carrying the 212th Attack Battalion swarmed out of the ship towards the planet.

The end of the Clone Wars had begun.


	3. Landing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t know to what extent. But I know that [the Chancellor] orchestrated much of this.”  
> – CT-5555/Fives

“Are your men ready, Cody?” Obi-Wan leaned back in the seat of his starfighter, looking down into the hangar of the Venator that stretched out beneath him.

“Yes, sir.” Cody’s voice rung through the comm in Obi-Wan cockpit. “It’s a pity we don’t have Oddball on this assignment.”

“Are you insulting me, Commander?”

“Of course not. Just saying that Oddball is a better pilot than you, General.” Obi-Wan heard a younger voice, probably a rookie, whisper, “ _Al’verde, nayc._ ” Obi-Wan laughed. Definitely a rookie.

“And what makes you say that, _Al’verde_?”

The sound of leather on plastoid and muffled laughter came through the comm. “We don’t have time for me to recite the full list, _Alor_.”

“Very well. I expect the full account in your report. Alphabetized, if you wouldn’t mind.” Obi-Wan knew that Cody would very likely add the requested list of reasons to his report and made a mental note to rescind the request later.

“Consider it done, sir. Gunships taking off now.”

Obi-Wan angled his starfighter so that he was flying alongside the first LAAT/i that emerged from the hangar. Behind him, five ARC-170’s trailed along the line of gunships. Five would be enough. They weren’t expecting heavy fleet resistance, but it was better to err on the side of caution.

They didn’t meet any resistance until far into the atmosphere. The ships had just broken the cloud cover when a force of black and red Mandalorians swarmed them. Obi-Wan and the ARC-170s split away to cover the gunships carrying infantry, while the jetpack troopers they had brought with them broke from their gunships to engage.

The air skirmish was over soon, and Obi-Wan brought his fighter down onto the docks of Sundari where Bo-Katan and her loyalists were holding off Saxon’s forces. With the arrival of Republic forces, the traditionalists were soon overwhelmed and fell back from the docks into the city with both clones and Death Watch warriors pushing after them. Cody materialized next to Obi-Wan from the swarm of clones, acknowledging Bo-Katan with a nod.

“We are taking control of the city now, sir. If Maul is here, if there’s any sign of him, we’ll know in a matter of hours.”

“Thank you, Cody. Lady Bo-Katan, is there a vantage point from which we can see most of Sundari?”

Bo-Katan signaled for two of her troops to join her. “Follow me.”

Obi-Wan soon found himself on a balcony with the three Mandalorians. Below them, yellow-armored clones fought off red-armored Mandalorians. Obi-Wan noted that the new traditionalists had painted their armor to resemble Maul, and his lip curled in disgust. Then the Mandalorians were disengaging and flying away from the Republic forces and down lower into the city. Obi-Wan looked around for Cody and found him emerging from the room adjacent to the balcony, ending a holocomm call as he stepped out onto the platform. He had taken off his helmet, and it was tucked securely into the crook of his arm.

“No sign of Maul, yet. We’re moving to secure the Undercity.” Cody said, walking over to stand next to Obi-Wan.

Bo-Katan nodded. “We can’t sustain a long siege. I’ll head for the throne room and deal with Almec. You must find Maul.”

Obi-Wan turned to his commander as the three Death Watch members took off towards the throne room. “I’m going to support Ursa at the docks. We must ensure that Maul doesn’t escape, again.”

“If he’s even here, sir.” Cody’s glove comm chimed and he brought it up. “Commander Cody.”

“Commander, this is Boil. I think we have something.”

“I’ll be right there, Captain. Cody out.” Cody put his helmet back on. “Boil, always on top of things. We should’ve promoted him sooner, would’ve saved us a lot of time.” He started with Obi-Wan back to the turbolift that had brought them up to the balcony to begin with.

“Don’t care for a jetpack, Commander?”

“Don’t have my certification, sir. I’ve been too busy saving you lot to have the time.” Cody gestured for Obi-Wan to enter the turbolift first before following himself.

Obi-Wan scoffed. “And here I thought you were afraid of flying.”

“Projecting your own thoughts onto me again?” Though his face was hidden by the helmet, Obi-Wan knew the man was smiling that soft smile he saved for pushing his general’s buttons.

“You know, I used to love flying. I would always beg my master to allow me to fly our ship. It was as if the galaxy was at my fingertips.” Though he and Qui-Gon Jinn hadn’t always had the best master-padawan relationship, Obi-Wan looked back fondly on their time together. Without Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan believed that he would’ve never become the man he was now. The man that the Republic needed.

"What changed?” Cody stepped out of the turbolift, followed closely by Obi-Wan.

“A lot changed. It’s a rather long story.”

“And we will have a long flight back from Mandalore. Tell me then.” Cody turned from Obi-Wan, who stopped him from moving away by placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Cody, be careful.” He allowed his hand to fall as Cody looked back over his shoulder at him.

“If it is Maul, I’ll let you know at once, General.” Obi-Wan nodded his approval, and watched Cody disappear back into the sea of clones.

* * *

As soon as her ship had entered the hanger of the _Invisible Hand,_ Ahsoka gave control over to R7 and opened the cockpit. She leapt out of the starfighter, tapping into the force to keep her in the air long enough to clear the ship, and landed on a battle droid’s shoulders. The droid was decapitated in a yellow swipe as she brought her lightsabers around. Across the hanger, Anakin was taking on more of the droids and she began moving in his direction.

"Artoo, locate the Chancellor.” She ordered once she had reached Anakin’s side. The droid’s whine of accomplishment accompanied the last arc of Anakin’s lightsaber as the final battle droid fell. They turned to face the holomap the astromech now projected. “The Chancellor’s signal is coming from right here,” Ahsoka gestured to the illuminated patch. “Looks like an observation deck, Master.”

Anakin looked upwards to the mass of ship above them. “I sense Count Dooku.”

“I sense a trap. What are we going to do?”

Anakin smirked. “Spring the trap!” Ahsoka mirrored his expression and follow her master out of the hangar. They had just reached the ship turbolifts when Ahsoka heard a familiar noise.

“Master, destroyers!”

“I see them.” Anakin stepped forward, making himself the primary target of the droidekas. Ahsoka would’ve rolled her eyes had she not otherwise been preoccupied, though she also appreciated the gesture. When the turbolift came she and Anakin stepped back into it, relaxing their stances once the door had closed and the lift began to move away from the droidekas. Then she felt the poke of a blaster on her lekku.

“Drop your weapons. I said drop them.” Battledroids. It was her turn to smirk at Anakin, who grinned back, and soon the droids in the elevator were scrap. Then she saw Anakin stumble out of the corner of her eye.

“Master!” She moved to steady him. “Are you alright?”

“I just saw…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head slightly. “Snips, Ahsoka, I think we’re about to win the war.” Ahsoka blinked back at him. It would make sense. Here, she and Anakin were facing Count Dooku and General Grievous, the heads of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. On Mandalore, Obi-Wan was facing Maul, the key to finding the Sith Lord that was pulling their strings. If the war were to ever end, it may as well end now.

“Then let’s win, Master.” She said.

They stepped out of the lift together onto the observation deck. Across the room, Chancellor Palpatine turned the massive chair to which he was handcuffed to face them. With no visible opposition in the room, they descended and approached Palpatine.

“Chancellor.” Ahsoka bowed.

“Are you alright?” Anakin didn’t bow and stepped closer to the man. It didn’t surprise Ahsoka, she knew they were close.

“Count Dooku.” He looked past them, up to where they had entered the room. There stood Count Dooku, flanked by B2 super battle droids. “Get help! You’re no match for him- he’s a Sith Lord!” This time, Ahsoka did roll her eyes. Politicians.

“Your swords, please. We don’t want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor.” Dooku left the B2s on the balcony as he descended towards them. Silently, Anakin and Ahsoka ignited their lightsabers and the Sith Lord followed suit. Dooku made the first move. He stepped forward and swung, nearly twirled, his lightsaber at the two Jedi. They stepped forward to make contact with the blade and pushed him back. From there, it was a dance of colors. Blue, red, green, yellow, all arcing and slicing through the air in a lightshow. Ahsoka found herself mostly on the defense, covering for Anakin’s aggressive offensive movements, but also trapping Dooku’s blade for milliseconds and pushing the Sith Lord away from the Chancellor.

“I’ve been looking forward to this.” Dooku said. And Ahsoka knew that he meant it. She fell back half a step behind Anakin to look back to the Chancellor. He was safe, for now, and still chained to the chair.

"So have I.” Anakin growled back. “This time, you will not escape.”

“Good. Pride comes before the fall.” Dooku blocked Anakin’s attack with ease, pushing him away from Ahsoka.

“Speaking for yourself?” Ahsoka retorted as she flung herself at Dooku, catching the man off-guard for a moment before she was flung aside with a lazy wave of his hand. She rolled with the impact and found herself facing the super battle droids when she righted herself. Behind the droids, she could see that the men were now moving up the staircase. Ahsoka dodged the initial fire of the B2s and took them out with a simultaneous blow from each of her lightsabers before she followed after Anakin. As she reached the top step, Dooku sent Anakin flying back with a well-placed kick. Ahsoka flung herself at the Sith once more, perhaps not the wisest move but she needed to give Anakin time to get back in the fight. She came to a stop midair as her hands reached for her now constricted throat. Then she was flying across the room. Her head struck a walkway that ran down the side of the observation deck and the fall to the floor knocked the breath from her lungs. She felt herself swimming in and out of consciousness to the sound of clashing lightsabers. At least it seemed like Anakin had everything back on track.

She came fully to consciousness to the sound of Palpatine’s voice. “… get off this ship before it’s too late.” Anakin was standing over her with worry etched across this face. She smiled at her master and reached up to rub the back of her head. Her back lekku had softened the blow, but she had a feeling that there would be a nasty bruise across her headtails for the next few rotations. The 501st wouldn’t let her out of their sight until it was healed.

“How’s it going, Snips?”

“Peachy.” She accepted the outstretched hand and let Anakin pull her back to her feet. He slipped his arm under hers to support her weight and they began to set off after the Chancellor, who was nearly sprinting for the doors. “Where’s Dooku?” She craned her head to look back into the room and spotted the headless corpse on the ground. “Oh.”

Anakin didn’t respond. She couldn’t read him in the Force either. He should’ve been happy, but conflict radiated off of his skin. She’d get the details later. At the moment, she could hear the fire of a Venator’s cannons as the Republic pressed their attack. They needed to get off the ship. But when the Chancellor pressed the turbolift button, nothing happened. Anakin reached for his comm to call R2, then found himself reaching for a handgrip as the ship was rocked by a burst of cannon fire and began to keel. The doors to the shaft were swung open by the sudden turn and the trio threw themselves towards the opening, scrambling inside the shaft, where they could stand and run. Then they were sliding once again as the ship leveled out. Then they were falling. Everyone reached for Anakin as Anakin scrambled to find hold on the smooth lift walls. When the group had jerked to a halt, Ahsoka found herself clinging to Anakin’s neck, with the Chancellor clinging to his leg. Anakin clung to an exposed bundle of wires. Palpatine looked down and let out a horrified moan, digging his fingers into the flesh of Anakin’s calf. Ahsoka chose to keep her gaze focused on a little scar on the back of Anakin’s neck. She’d rather not know how long she had to fall. Or where the turbolift was.

“Not a word to Obi-Wan about this.” Anakin hissed.

“I’m sure the two of you would be in a similar situation right now, Master. It was your plan after all.”

“Plan Isk then, find us a way out, Snips.” So, they were on isk already. Not bad. Ahsoka let go with one arm so she could turn to get a better look of the lift shaft. She could see a crack of light below and opposite them. A wave of the Force opened the doors to a seemingly empty hallway.

“Master, look.”

“Can you make it?” Anakin’s voice came out strained. If it wasn’t for the strength of his mechanical fingers they may have already fallen.

“We’re about to find out.” Ahsoka planted her feet against the walls of the shaft on either side of her master, trying not to strangle him with the one arm still clasped around his neck. Once she felt stable, she pushed off against the walls and found her hand grasping the inner frame of the door as she swung through. “The hall is clear!”

Without another word, Anakin reached into the Force and flung Palpatine unceremoniously across the gap, where Ahsoka kept the man from careening onto the floor. They were joined a moment later by Anakin, dusting his hands off as he reached them, and the trio set off down the empty hallway. Until they couldn’t.

“How nice, a ray shield.” Ahsoka sighed, resisting the urge to lean against it.

“Not a problem, my young apprentice.” Anakin had just dramatically raised his comm to call for R2 when the droid appeared, R7 close behind. “See, Artoo has our backs.” The astromechs clanged against the opposing wall, then against each other as an assortment of battle droids materialized around them. Battle droids, B2s, droidekas, and then the MagnaGuards- Grievous’s favorite personal droid detail.

“Little bit of a problem.” She couldn’t help it. She heard a sharp inhale from behind her that could only be Chancellor Palpatine and felt a little sorry for the scared old man.

The ray shield dropped around them as the MangaGuards approached. “Hand over your lightsabers.” The Jedi stole a look back at Palpatine, then obliged.

“Not a single word to Obi-Wan.” Anakin emphasized as they were marched off to the bridge of the _Invisible Hand._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really loved how in the ROTS novelization Palpatine came off as afraid throughout the entirety of his rescue. I think it really shows how well he was able to mask his power.


	4. Rescue | Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The dark is generous, and it is patient. It is the dark that seeds cruelty into justice, that drips contempt into compassion, that poisons love with grains of doubt.  
> […]  
> “Eventually, even stars burn out.”  
> \- Revenge of the Sith novelization

“Ahsoka Tano, we meet again. That wasn’t much of a rescue.” The General stopped to hack. Anakin grimaced at Ahsoka, who shrugged back. “And Anakin Skywalker. I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little older.”

“General Grievous. You’re shorter than I expected.”

“Try not to upset him, Master. He’s having a rough day as it is.” Ahsoka gestured with her montrals towards the battle raging outside of the transparisteel windows of the bridge.

“Jedi scum.” Grievous snatched their lightsabers from the outstretched hands of a MagnaGuard. “Your lightsabers will make a fine addition to my collection.”

“Not today. Artoo!” It was a classic Anakin Skywalker tactic. Ahsoka wished that Rex and the men had been present to watch the chaos unfold. All of R2-D2’s instruments sprang out and his electro-shock prod sprang into action as he flung himself at the droids nearest the Jedi. R7 made a horrified cooing noise. With a laugh, Ahsoka reached into the Force and pulled her lightsabers from the droid general, who was coughing in fury. Or maybe just coughing.

“Crush them! Make them suffer.” He flung a mechanical hand in the direction of the Jedi and three MagnaGuards around advanced.

Ahsoka stepped forward to confront the MagnaGuards while Anakin prevented the Chancellor from being escorted off the bridge. With two blades and one fake-out involving the ceiling she was able to disable two of the three guards by the time Anakin returned to her side. Grievous was barking orders now and had retrieved one of the fallen electro-staffs. Anakin moved to confront him while Ahsoka finished off the final MagnaGuard, cutting off its head while simultaneously driving her lightsaber into its chest. Then there was a crash, and she found herself flying through the air as Grievous drifted out of what had once been a transparisteel window. She flung her arms down and managed to get a hold on a command console until the blast shield closed and the environment stabilized.

Ahsoka swung herself down into the chair of the console that had just saved her life. In front of her was a red screen with an image of the _Invisible Hand_. The damage from the Venator’s fire looked severe, and parts of the ship were greyed out from damage or loss. She watched as a row of circles on the screen greyed out one by one. “All the escape pods have been launched.”

“Grievous.” Anakin snarled, storming over to the control console. He strapped himself into the seat and took a moment to run his hands over the controls, familiarizing himself with their positioning.

“Can you fly a cruiser like this?” Chancellor Palpatine was picking his way over to them from across the decimated bridge.

“With all due respect, Chancellor. I’d say that the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant.” Even under normal circumstances, the Separatist Dreadnaught was not designed to land. Like the Republic Venator, they would dock very rarely and only in designated bays. “Strap yourselves in. Ahsoka, open all hatches, extend all flaps and drag fins.”

Ahsoka took a moment to run her hands across the console before her. Not all ships were the same, but many were close enough that an experienced pilot could get the hang of flying any ship in a matter of hours. They didn’t have hours. They had the Force. Ahsoka found her fingers gravitating towards a subsector of the console to a mass of buttons and switches and thanked the Force that she’d fallen into the right seat. “Opening hatches; extending flaps; extending drag fins.”

The ship shuddered as the drag fins completed their extension, then they were accelerating much faster than they had before.

“Did we lose something?” Anakin shouted over the roar of pieces of the hull sheering off.

“We lost our shields.” Ahsoka looked down to find that more of the display was greyed out. “But not to worry, Master. We are still flying half a ship.”

“What are our readings, Snips?”

“Eight plus sixty. We’re in the atmosphere.”

“Tell the interplanetary defense system to stand down!” The Chancellor barked. “They’ll blow us all to bits!”

* * *

The sky of Coruscant lit up as if the upper reaches of the atmosphere had caught fire. Captain Rex stepped away from Commander Fox’s briefing to see a Dreadnaught- not a Dreadnaught, the fiery half of one- exit the cloud cover.

“What idiot is flying that thing?” Rex muttered, shaking his head. He’d have to prepare the boys to clean up any surviving droids from that wreck as well as those who had been abandoned in the streets. Assuming that the craft wasn’t shot down before it crashed, the planetary defense should’ve activated by now.

“Rex.” Fox called the captain’s attention back over to the radio they had perched on the edge of the holotable. The commander reached over and turned the sound up so that all the clones in the room could hear.

“Repeat, this is Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker, do not fire! The Chancellor is with us.” Commander Tano’s voice rung through the speakers. Fox turned very slowly to face Rex and spread his hands towards the captain.

“ _Bantha’ad_ , that’s my idiot.”

* * *

“Hold us level, Snips.”

Ahsoka reached back into the Force, asking it where she could find the controls to the stabilizers, what was left of them anyways. Her hand gripped a lever and she moved it ever so slightly down. The ship gave a shudder as more of the hull sheared off. R7 let out a worried whistle.

“Easy, R7. Passing five thousand.” Ahsoka spared a look over at her master. He was completely calm, hands skimming over the controls as if he had flown this ship all his life. The Force was strong around him and he was unafraid. Palpatine on the other hand was very afraid, and Ahsoka had to block out his Force signature as she turned back to the controls. Then she heard the distinctive rush of water and turned to look out of the surviving transparisteel panes. “Fire ships on the left and right.”

The voice of a clone crackled over her comm. “We’ll take you in. Landing pad is clear.” They had gotten her message after all. She could see the landing pad approaching now. It was one of the ones that the Acclamator assault ships used, but she still wondered if it would be enough.

“We’re coming in too hot.” Anakin muttered. She wondered if he realized the fire ships were alongside them, not that it mattered now. They’d been committed to landing this ship ever since they set foot on it, not that they knew that at the time. She watched as the landing strip approached, hand still on the stabilizer, reaching out to Anakin through the Force and waiting for his command. Just before the impact, she pushed her hand down hard. For a moment, the _Invisible Hand_ leveled out parallel to the duracrete. Then it hit the ground. The astromechs screamed as the ship slide. Ahsoka’s hand leapt off the lever and clutched her seatbelt. Anakin was still calm in the Force, making micro-adjustments to their course as they slid across the landing pad. Ahsoka could’ve sworn she watched a flight tower crumble in their wake. Their flight ended several klicks down the airstrip with a shuddering halt.

Anakin leaned back in his chair, finally removing his hands from the controls. He chuckled then turned to Palpatine. “Thank you for flying Skywalker spacelines, your captain is proud to report another happy landing.”

“This is the co-pilot speaking, let’s get off this thing before it blows.” Ahsoka slipped out of her seatbelt, staggering a little as she stood. The Chancellor was practically out of the bridge door by the time she and Anakin were fully roused from their seats. They followed him out of the bridge, making their way down to the escape pod hatches through the emergency pathways. A fire and rescue crew awaited them outside the ship, along with Mace Windu and a commander of the Coruscant Guard. Behind them two gunships hovered off to the side of the landing pad. One had the red sigil of a medical transport on it.

“Chancellor, are you in need of medical attention?” Mace gestured towards the gunships as he approached them.

“No, no need, Master Windu, thanks to the efforts of these Jedi. Send them on to help our citizens.”

“Skywalker, Tano?”

Ahsoka rubbed the back of her head, it was already beginning to bruise, but she could deal with that back at the barracks tonight.

“We’re fine, Master Windu.” Anakin spoke for them. “Never better.” Now that they were out of the dimly lit ship, Ahsoka could see that Anakin was practically gleaming. And why wouldn’t he be? He had just killed Count Dooku, perhaps directly ending the Clone Wars, then landed a ship that was never meant to land, saving the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. She felt a glow of pride begin to rise in her chest.

Mace waved off the medical transport. “If you would follow me, I’m sure that the Chancellor would like to make a statement before the Senate as soon as he can.”

“I would indeed, Master Windu. Thank you for your understanding and quick action. There is much to discuss.”

* * *

Cody exited the elevator followed by three men he had picked up along the way, one of which was the undeterred shiny whose arm he had smacked earlier in the gunship. “Captain Boil, what have you got for me?” Boil, who was waiting just outside the elevator saluted, then gestured for Cody to follow him to the far side of the hole after the gesture had been returned.

“We were cutting off this access point to the Undercity when we engaged one of the leadership, Gar Saxon. He disappeared through there. Seemed to be in a hurry.”

Cody peered into the darkness. His helmet display showed no unusual readings from a cursory scan. “What’s down there?”

“A system of tunnels, mainly sewage ports. Some conduit access pipes.”

“Do they lead outside the city?” Cody didn’t recall seeing the sewer system on any of the holomaps he and General Kenobi had looked over on their way to Mandalore.

“Unknown, sir.”

Cody looked to the troopers behind him, Boil, his men, and the three tag-alongs. “We can’t risk it Let’s move in.” Most of the men idling around followed them, though some remained to keep the entrance secure. Their footsteps and the sound of trickling water was all that Cody could hear as the group advanced through the tunnels. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had made a mistake. There was a splash to their left. Cody turned to see a red and black-painted Mandalorian lean down to loosen a rocket from their jetpack.

“Sir, get down!” Cody was pushed to the ground by one of his brothers before the rocket hit where he had been standing. He took a moment to gather his senses; the weight on his back, the sound of his men running in pursuit after the Mandalorians, his own breath. He pushed the body off his back, recognizing the armor as that belonging the shiny, and ran after his men. Too far behind to be of any use, Cody found himself chasing after dead clones and dead Mandalorians, but he continued to follow the footsteps ahead of him.

Cody rounded the corner and saw Boil fighting off a horned-helmeted Mandalorian. At the sound of the commander’s footsteps the Mandalorian drew back and fired wildly as he escaped into the tunnels. Cody threw himself to the tunnel wall to dodge the bolts that came his way. He turned back in time to see Boil hit the ground, a small plume of smoke rising from his chest. Cody cursed as he staggered over to his captain. He hit the ground hard next to Boil, reaching under the man’s head to support his neck as he removed the white and yellow helmet. Boil’s face was slack, dull eyes blinking slowly as he fought for breath. Cody reached for Boil’s hand and the captain took it.

“I’m sorry, Commander.”

“Boil…” Cody didn’t know what to say. He’d held so many of his brothers in his arms as they died, and he never knew what to say. He never had to know. Boil’s hand began to slip from his grasp and his head fell back. Cody let his head hang heavy, allowing himself to mourn the losses for a moment.

The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. Cody reached for Boil’s gun and turned to see more Mandalorians, blocking all but one of the tunnels. He prepared to die. But they didn’t shoot. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement in the remaining tunnel and turned his attention there. From the shadows appeared a red and black Zabrak. Cody snarled as he turned both guns towards Maul.

“Take him. Alive.” Maul said pleasantly with a wave of his hand. Cody was flung into the tunnel wall, scrambling to his feet as the Mandalorians all moved towards him as one. He fired off a shot at Maul before turning to face the armored warriors. He was able to take down two before the mob was upon him. A grappling line wrapped around his throat and the shock from energized wire brought Cody to his knees, where he found himself staring into the yellow eyes of the former Sith Lord. Maul removed his helmet with overindulgent caution and ran a finger over the scar on Cody’s temple.

“The great Marshal Commander Cody. A pleasure to meet you.”

 _‘The pleasure is all yours’_ Cody would’ve loved to snarl at him, but he found himself unable to draw breath against the binding. His head was spinning.

“I heard that we have a mutual friend in Obi-Wan Kenobi. I can’t wait to see what you have to say about him.” Maul grabbed Cody’s jaw and pulled him in close. If it weren’t for the line, Cody would’ve gagged as the Sith touched his cheek to Cody’s, whispering in his ear. “We have so much to discuss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! This whole story was inspired by the idea that if Obi-Wan went to Mandalore it may have been Cody who died in the sewers instead of Captain Vaughn! And that was the very first draft of this chapter but I changed my mind when I decided to make the clones Force sensitive.


	5. Spies | Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”  
> \- Yoda

“General Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan turned from the holomap that he and Bo-Katan were looking over. Sundari had been taken, but the flight of the traditionalists to the Undercity was concerning. He was waiting to hear back from Cody and Boil. Peel, stationed at the entrance to the sewers, had informed Obi-Wan of their investigation into the pipes hours ago. For the first hour of no-contact Obi-Wan had been mulling over quips about getting lost in the sewers, but now, unable to raise any of the squad on comms, he was getting worried.

“Trapper.” Obi-Wan’s gaze fell from the ARF trooper’s helmet to the one that Trapper was holding in his hands. Cody’s.

“Captain Boil and his men were killed. There was no sign of Commander Cody but this. I believe they took him alive, sir. There were signs of a struggle.” Trapper passed the helmet to Obi-Wan, who took it numbly. He reached out into the Force for Cody but was unable to find him. He was vaguely aware of Trapper’s voice. “Do you want us to continue our search for him, General?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No. Continue to guard the sewers, but don’t send in any more teams. They’ll be wiped out.” He dismissed Trapper and returned to Bo-Katan and the holotable.

Bo-Katan’s gaze fell on the helmet in Obi-Wan’s hands. “They’re hiding in the sewers then.”

“It would appear so.” Obi-Wan sighed, tucking the helmet into the crook of his arm. The only way to help Cody now was to find Maul. “How is the siege progressing otherwise?”

“There are a small number of firefights still happening in section eleven. But for the most part, your clones have been as effective as promised. Still, without Maul in custody this could all fall apart quickly. We must capture him before he escapes.”

“I don’t think Maul plans on escaping. I think he wanted me here. We may be playing right into his hand.” Obi-Wan drummed his fingers against the lip of Cody’s helmet, feeling the loss of his commander’s presence. Cody would know what to do next. He always knew. Obi-Wan’s heart sunk with the realization that he may not have Cody at his side again. They had to find Maul.

* * *

“Have you seen General Skywalker, sir?”

“Not since I left him with Senator Amidala when I went to brief the Council on our rescue.” Ahsoka turned to look at Rex. He seemed so out of place, cold armor in the warm hues of the Jedi Temple. Even his face appeared cold, as if the warm light inside wasn’t reaching him. If it weren’t for the reflections against his helmet’s visor between them, she’d think the morning was shunning him.

“So, we’re not getting him back for a while then.”

She was so glad that they both openly knew about Anakin’s secret relations with the senator. After her return, and Anakin’s near confession to her about his marriage, she and her captain had danced awkwardly around the subject until Anakin had told the two of them that he was staying the night at Padmé’s apartment and would prefer to not be disturbed until late the next morning. That had become the new normal for the trio when on Coruscant. Ahsoka and Rex handled the men and the paperwork, Anakin handled Padmé. Though they tried not to think about them that way.

“Not a chance, Rex.” She laughed as they arrived at the door to her room. “Would you like to come in?”

“No, thank you, sir. I can wait out here just fine.” Rex leaned back against the edge of the doorframe. Ahsoka nodded, clapping him on the arm, then entered her room. It was barren, even for a Jedi. Her sleeping mat lay in the corner with two wooden boxes beside it. There was no other decoration. She knelt down by one of the boxes, sifting through its contents for her beading kit.

“Little ‘Soka.” Ahsoka turned to see a familiar Kel Dor standing in the doorway to her quarters.

“Master Plo! Come in.”

Plo Koon took a look around the room as he stepped inside. His eyes fixed on the small pile of beads and akul teeth before her on the floor, then on the small pouch beside them. “Going back to the barracks so soon?”

“I sleep better there, Master Plo.” She had tried, really tried to stay in the Temple after her return. But her room reminded her of Bariss’ similarly non-descript room, and the silence was deafening. After a week of sleepless nights, she had asked Anakin and Rex for permission to stay in the barracks with the 501st when back on Coruscant. They had managed to find an unoccupied private room for her in their wing, which she had gladly accepted. She suspected that it had once been a storage closet from the smell of chemicals that had hung around her first week there. But she’d felt more at home among the clones than she did around the Jedi, and soon the chemical smell was gone, and she considered the room to be hers.

“I believe that I understand. We’ve spent so much time on the front lines with our men that it feels strange to not be around them. But you must also remember that the war will one day be over and that you must return to the Jedi Temple after it ends.”

Ahsoka nodded silently, looking beyond Plo Koon to the still-open doorway, where she could see a set of grey armor with an iconic helmet tucked under one arm next to Rex. “Where are you going?”

“Commander Wolffe and I are being sent to Utapau. Chancellor Palpatine believes that General Grievous is hiding out there.”

“Why?”

“An intercepted message from the Chairman of Utapau. It may be a trap.”

Ahsoka remembered Anakin’s vision. “Or, this could really be the end of the Clone Wars.”

Rex leaned further into the doorframe. “Utapau?”

“Utapau. So says the Chancellor, at least.” Wolffe shifted back and forth. “I hope he’s there, I’m ready to face that bastard again.”

Rex sensed apprehension. “But?”

Wolffe scoffed and shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about this, old boy. Not about Grievous, there’s something else. Something feels wrong about all of this.” For a moment Wolffe’s façade cracked, and Rex saw a wave of fear pass over his face. Then he was back. “Maybe I just need to take some lysinate.”

“You have a headache?”

“Ever since we got our orders to Utapau.” Wolffe reached up to run his hand over the back of his head. Rex bit back asking if he’d had his inhibitor chip checked recently. He knew that chip scans had been implemented as part of their quarterly physical as part of an effort to catch pre-tumorous ones, but he still worried.

Rex reached out for Wolffe, grabbing his shoulder and stepping closer, but before he could speak the conversation inside the room reached them. “… this could be the end of the Clone Wars.”

Wolffe turned from Rex to face the inside of the room. “Did you have a vision?”

“Master Skywalker did, when we were on the _Invisible Hand_. And why not? Dooku is dead, you’re about to track down Grievous, why wouldn’t it end here?”

Plo Koon shook his head. “There’s something missing.”

“Maul’s capture.” Rex offered.

“With him in custody we may be able to find out the identity of Darth Sidious.” Ahsoka finished. “Dooku, Grievous, Sidious. All in one blow. Not to mention Maul. How else could the war end?”

“The Separatists finish building their super-weapon and blow us all up?” Wolffe proposed.

“That’s just a rumor.” Rex said.

“So was the _Malevolence_ , old boy.” The memory hung in the air, stifling the conversation.

Plo Koon brought his hand to his mask for a moment, letting it rest there while he thought. “Commander Wolffe, Captain Rex, could I get a moment of privacy with Commander Tano for a minute?”

“Yes, sir.” The clones stepped back, manually closing the door behind them.

“What is it, Master Plo?” Ahsoka stood from the floor to face her friend.

“There is something you should know, and it’s best that you hear it from me. You, your master, and the 501st will not be returning to the front, but will be staying on Coruscant for a few weeks. Master Skywalker is on a special assignment here at the moment.” Plo Koon paused, returning the hand to his mask.

Ahsoka crossed her arms, her interest piqued. “What kind of assignment?”

“Your Master has been asked to observe the movements and actions of the Chancellor and to report his findings to the Council. He has been allowed to remain in office far too long after his term has expired. The Council wants to know what his true intentions are.”

Ahsoka dug her nails into her forearms. “They told him to spy on the Supreme Chancellor? The Chancellor has been a great friend and mentor to Anakin! I can’t imagine he is happy about this.”

“I can’t imagine so either. Which is why the Council wanted you to know.” Plo Koon stepped forward, placing his hands on Ahsoka’s shoulders. She sensed hesitation in his statement and wondered if the Council had wanted her to know, or if Master Plo had wanted her to know. She relaxed slightly under the weight of his arms. Her grievances were against the Council, not Plo Koon.

“Thank you, Master Plo.”

“You are very welcome, little ‘Soka. Now, Wolffe and I must be off to Utapau. Evidently, we have a war to win.”

Ahsoka remained standing as she watched Master Plo exit her quarters. She tried to reach out into the Force, to feel into his future, but there was something blocking her from reaching beyond the doorstep of her quarters. Wolffe was tense, she could feel the worry radiating off of him. Perhaps that was it. She’d never felt such apprehension coming off of a clone before, let alone Wolffe, who she regarded as decisive even in the face of his own wrongdoings. Her concentration was broken as Plo and Wolffe stepped away. The moment gone, she knelt back down to gather the rest of her things.

* * *

“You’re wasting your time; I’ll never betray him.” Cody rasped; his voice hoarse from the pressure of the grappling line. Though it had left his neck almost a day ago, the pain remained. His hands were tied above his head to one of the pipes. His armor lay at his feet in pieces, leaving him in his blacks. He felt exposed without it, but also thankful for the relief its absence put on his shoulders.

Maul made a sound that Cody would’ve described as a chuckle if he believed Maul to be capable of humor. “How charming that you actually believe that to be true. Clones. Bred for combat. All part of the plan.”

“What plan?” This time, Cody could gag when Maul moved towards him.

“The plan. The only plan that matters. Not even I was made aware of its grand design,” Maul ran his fingers over Cody’s scar almost absentmindedly, “but I played my part. And do you know what happened to me? I was cast aside. I was forgotten. But I survived, and I can thrive in the chaos that is to come.” He slipped his hand under Cody’s jaw then pulled it away as he took a step back, fingernail’s raking against Cody’s skin. He turned to the waiting Mandalorians. “Saxon, information is a valuable commodity. See to it that the Prime Minister does not become an asset to our enemy.”

"Yes, my lord.” One of the Mandalorians split off from the group, Cody made a mental note that that tunnel must be the way out of the sewers.

Maul turned back to Cody. “I was hoping that Skywalker would accompany your invasion instead of rushing off to Coruscant. I wonder…the moment may be upon us.” Maul’s eyes became distant, and Cody felt as if his blood had turned to ice. A familiar pounding started in the back of his head. It had been there for weeks, starting a few days before the Yerbana campaign. Cody knew that he wasn’t a Force user, none of the clones were, but maybe being around the Jedi had given him some connection to its essence. And maybe, just maybe, the Force was trying to tell him something, trying to warn him of some danger. Or his inhibitor chip was decaying. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Then Maul was back. “Do you know what Kenobi has done to me? He has taken everything from me, and for that, he will pay.”

"And me?”

Maul cupped his face again and Cody scowled, feeling Maul’s hot breath on his face. “You are going to help me make him suffer.” Cody closed his eyes and tried to reach for Obi-Wan in the Force, but he could feel nothing. It’s probably not how the Force worked. Maybe the Force was busy at the moment. “There’s no use in reaching out for him, he won’t come until we’re ready. Though I imagine that it will take him longer, without his cherished commander at his side.”

“You’re overestimating my importance.” Cody made sure to meet Maul’s yellow eyes as he spoke, searching for any signs of weakness in them.

“Am I? Perhaps so. They haven’t sent any more search parties for you. I suppose they’ve cut their losses and moved on already.” Maul pulled his hand away once more, and Cody allowed his head to fall against his chest. He was tired. But if Maul was telling the truth, at least no more of his brothers would die for him in these tunnels. “Rook, start from the beginning. I believe our guest is becoming bored.”

* * *

Rex awoke with a jolt. His hand reached for his stomach as he scanned the small nondescript room that he called his own. Nothing. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and lay his head in his hands as he steadied his breathing. He must’ve been having a nightmare. The chronometer on his desk read 04:54, he would’ve been up soon anyways. He slid off the bed and grabbed the towel and fresh pair of blacks that waited for him over the back of his desk chair. There was nobody else in the hallway when he stepped out. As usual. Rex was often the first one to rise. He turned towards the showers but a voice floating down the hallway stopped him.

“… from Dooku has been lost.” Ahsoka said.

“He’s dead?” Obi-Wan’s voice. Of course, Mandalore was nearly opposite Coruscant in time and Ahsoka had no circadian rhythm that he knew of.

“Anakin killed him when we were rescuing the Chancellor.”

“With Dooku gone, we’ve lost a vital link to understanding the mystery of Darth Sidious. Perhaps, Maul’s capture may be able to provide the missing pieces to this puzzle.” Rex moved towards the voices, coming to a stop beside Ahsoka’s door.

“Have you found him yet?”

“No, and Cody is missing.” Rex felt the towel hit the floor at his feet but had no memory of when he had dropped it. He felt numb.

“I’m so sorry, Master Kenobi. I’ll tell Rex.” Maybe she could sense his presence outside already. “I wish we could be there for you.”

“Thank you, Ahsoka, but I’m afraid that you must remain on Coruscant for the duration of Anakin’s assignment. He may need you.”

“Best of luck finding Maul, and Cody.” There was the sound of a holocomm clicking off, then Ahsoka was standing in the doorway beside him. She took his hands in hers and pulled him into her embrace. Rex let himself fall apart in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize that summaries sent with the chapter update until earlier this week. None of the fics I have ever followed actually updated until like last Monday. So I'll be adding some summary now! Also, I couldn't find a source on any headache medicine in Star Wars, so have some half-way accurate description of Ibuprofen.
> 
> Next week, Obi-Wan vs Maul showdown at the halfway mark! Here's where it starts to get fun! (Painful!)


	6. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “...The moment may be upon us. [...] For if I am correct, soon the Jedi and the Republic will no longer be the controlling interest in the galaxy.”  
> \- Darth Maul
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to hunterpond, who promised to throw a “whole ass chair” at me if Maul kills Cody, which is very valid.

Wolffe watched General Plo’s starfighter dock in the hangar from the bridge of the Venator. He was not in it. Plo Koon was somewhere in the city below, heading up towards the tenth level where Wolffe and the 104th would meet with him and Grievous’ forces. Wolffe drummed his fingers against the grey markings on his bracers as he waited for the signal from his general. If they moved in too early, Grievous would flee. They had to time this just right.

He reached for a thin tube he had attached to his belt and fumbled for another orange anti-inflammatory pill. He had told General Plo about the headache but was now regretting downplaying its extent. Of course, if he hadn’t then he may have been told this sit this battle out and he could’ve never done that. They had General Grievous and the Separatist leadership sitting right below their feet. Revenge was not the Jedi way, but he had never been instructed otherwise.

“Commander Wolffe.” He turned to see Sinker standing behind him. “We have received the order to engage.”

Wolffe nodded. “Are the boys ready for launch?”

“Just waiting on you.” Sinker’s helmet flitted down to the pill in Wolffe’s hand. “Still got that headache?”

“Yeah, you haven’t left yet.” Wolffe cracked a cruel smile as he popped the pill into his mouth and put his helmet on. He elicited a low chuckle from Sinker as the man fell into step behind his commander as they made their way to the waiting gunships.

“You know, you should lay off the caf. That may help your headache.” Sinker shot back as they made their way to the turbolift.

“And leave the rest of you to flounder around like pups? I think not.” Wolffe wished that he could’ve seen the look of indignation that he was certain was creeping its way across Sinker’s features.

“Awoo, sir.” Sinker deadpanned.

“That’s the spirit.”

When the turbolift doors opened again, Sinker followed Wolffe to the closest waiting gunship. Wolffe took a look around at the men inside as the doors sealed shut and the ship began takeoff. They were all bristling for a fight. They were always bristling for a fight, but this was personal. Wolffe looked through the slits on the side of the gunship at the rapidly approaching planet. He knew that he should say something to his men, but what to say what another matter.

“Sir, we’re dropping in thirty seconds.” Sinker had placed his hand on Wolffe’s shoulder to get his attention before speaking. Wolffe considered brushing it off for a moment but decided not to do so. He couldn’t cut himself off from his men, especially not Sinker and Boost.

“Very well.” Wolffe checked over his jetpack one last time before raising his comm to his helmet. “This is it, boys. The Republic is counting on us! Let’s make these clankers pay.” A horrible motivational speech, if he could call it a speech, Wolffe had never been as good as General Plo at inspiring moral amongst his brothers, but he got a few raised fists from the men around him and a few whoops over the comms.

When the gunship doors opened, Wolffe was the first one in the air.

* * *

Obi-Wan stood on the palace balcony looking down at the chaos below. The citizens of Sundari were being evacuated from their homes into shelters in preparation for the 212th to tear the city apart in search of Maul. He could sense the unease coming off of Bo-Katan, and when she turned away from the sight, he followed her.

“This occupation cannot last much longer. The people will not stand for it. I will not stand for it.”

“You asked for our help. My forces will depart as soon as we have captured Maul.” Obi-Wan didn’t mention that the 212th wanted to leave as soon as they had found their commander.

“At least we know from Almec that he isn’t trying to escape, but we still don’t know who else Maul wanted here. If I’d arrived five minutes earlier…” She clenched her fist in front of her in frustration.

“Let’s not dwell on what we could have done differently.” Obi-Wan kept his gaze on her as he pushed open the doors to the throne room. “Maul will surface soon and then you will have your opportunity to lead.”

“I agree.” Maul lounged on the Mandalorian throne as if it had been made for him. Obi-Wan reached out to stop Bo-Katan from rushing against the Sith, pulling her back by the pauldron. Then his gaze fell on the armored man seated on the floor beside the throne, hands cuffed behind his back.

“Cody.” Obi-Wan took a step forward, his previous caution nearly forgotten.

“I’m alright, General.” Cody tried to give Obi-Wan a reassuring look, but it was cut short with a shudder when Maul reached over to run a hand down his cheek. Obi-Wan took another step forward, he could sense Bo-Katan moving with him a half-step to his right.

“You heard the clone, Kenobi. He’s alright, I haven’t done any harm to him- yet.” Maul ignited one end of his lightsaber, bringing it to rest in front of Cody’s neck. Despite the immediate danger, Obi-Wan found his eyes drawn away to a nearly imperceptible motion. Cody had dropped his hand to his side opposite Maul, exposing an uncuffed wrist. As soon as his hand was there it was gone, and Obi-Wan brought his attention back to Maul. “And what happens next is up to you.”

There was the sound of explosions and Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan turned to see the throne room window light up with the flames. They shielded their eyes as the force of the blast shattered the windowpanes, sending shards of glass into the room.

“One of you might want to deal with that.” Maul brought the lightsaber away from Cody and gestured lazily towards the scene with it, eyeing Bo-Katan.

Obi-Wan turned to Bo-Katan. “Go, your people need you. I can handle Maul.”

She hesitated for a moment, then ran off to join the fight. As Maul had known she would.

“What do you want, Maul?” Obi-Wan snarled as her footsteps faded.

“Your cooperation.” Maul extinguished his lightsaber and lay the hilt in his lap. “Skywalker. I want you to call him, now, and bring him before me.”

Obi-Wan had been reaching for his lightsaber but stopped at the sound of his former padawan’s name. “What do you want with him?”

“He is the key to everything.”

“To bring balance to the Force?”

“To destroy. He has long been groomed for his role as my master’s new apprentice. You see, I have orchestrated this entire war to lure him here with you, to kill him.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t sense any deception from Maul, and yet, he couldn’t be right. This had to be a trick of some kind; one that Maul was playing or being played by. “That’s unfortunate, I’m afraid that I am unable to do that at the moment. He’s rather busy protecting the Chancellor.”

“Then it seems I was too late.” Maul shifted in the throne, holding his lightsaber hilt up to examine it. “But I still have you. I wonder how many people will die for you in this room by the end of our rivalry.” Maul’s lightsaber sprung to life in his hands as he swung it back towards Cody.

Obi-Wan ran forward. He found himself too far away to stop the advancement of the blade but tapped into the Force to give him speed. If he couldn’t save Cody, the least he could do would be to hold him as he died; as he had held Satine; as he had held Qui-Gon. He wondered how different his life would’ve been if he and his master had managed to kill Maul all those years ago on Naboo.

Cody’s scream echoed through the chamber. Obi-Wan tapped once more into the Force and leapt to his side, placing his blade between the commander and Maul’s lightsaber. Cody let go of Maul’s lightsaber hilt and fell back against Obi-Wan’s legs.

“Commander?”

“I’m alright, General. Barely scratched me. Hurts like hell though.” Obi-Wan looked down to see Cody’s hands pressed against his side. He could smell the melted plastoid and burned flesh now, but he could also feel the movement of Cody’s back with each breath he took. Maul had not taken Cody from him.

“I think I’ve changed my mind, Kenobi.” Maul rose from his chair, and Obi-Wan shifted to keep himself between the Sith and Cody. “I’m going to kill you, torture your commander to death, then hunt down and destroy your apprentice. And the Republic will thank me for it.”

“Not today, Maul. I am here to bring you to justice.” Obi-Wan brought his lightsaber up over his shoulder, preparing to strike.

“Justice.” Maul scoffed as he advanced towards Obi-Wan. “Justice is merely the construct of the current power base. A base, which, according to my calculations, is about to change. The time of the Jedi has passed. Sidious will rule the galaxy, and the Jedi will be powerless to stop him!”

Obi-Wan stepped forward to meet Maul’s advancing blade with his own. It was time for this to end. He kept himself between Maul and Cody as they exchanged blades. He couldn’t risk the Sith taking another swipe at his commander. Maul’s fighting was sloppy and ungraceful, unlike the quick acrobatic movements that he usually displayed. Ahsoka could’ve taken him easily. Cody, at full strength and armed with a lightsaber or two, may have even been able to defeat him. He wondered if something had happened to the man to unbalance him in the time since he had vanished from Mandalore. As they fought, he pushed Maul back into the center of the throne room. At one point he spared a look over his shoulder at Cody. The commander was laying on the floor where Obi-Wan had left him, eyes closed but breathing deep and steady. He would recover.

Obi-Wan’s lightsaber found Maul’s hilt and one red blade extinguished as Maul howled in fury. He redoubled his efforts, kicking and slashing at Obi-Wan with growls. He was nearly unhinged. The sounds of battle outside were fading, and that only furthered Maul’s rage.

“You’re all going to burn.” Maul hissed, kicking up glass shards towards Obi-Wan’s face. Obi-Wan waved them aside with the Force and reached out to take a hold of Maul’s lightsaber hilt. He forced the blade downwards into the floor and raised his lightsaber to Maul’s throat. Slowly, Maul released the hold on his lightsaber and it clattered to the floor. Obi-Wan raised his head to see the yellow-painted armor of the 212th, led by Bo-Katan, entering the throne room

“You don’t know what you’re doing, Kenobi, what you’ve already done. You’re all going to burn! We’re all going to die!”

“One day, Maul. But not today.” Obi-Wan reached down to pick up Maul’s lightsaber, twirling it in his hand as he stepped back to allow his men their retribution. As the stunned Maul was cuffed and restrained Obi-Wan felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Cody, supported by two of his men and looking pale.

“Thank you, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan reached out to squeeze Cody’s shoulder in return. “You’re welcome, Cody. Do get some rest, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“The same thing we always do, but much slower.”

“Peel, Crys, get him out of here. He seems to be developing delusions of grandeur.” Obi-Wan gave the trio a gentle shove towards the door and turned his attention back to Bo-Katan. They still had much to discuss.

* * *

Ahsoka thumbed lazily through the book Jocasta Nu had given to her. The initial excitement of paper had been short lived, and now Ahsoka found herself reading the same lines over and over except for when one of the clones stopped by and asked if they could touch it, perhaps with a snide remark about how their homework days were over. Some had been more interested than others. Jesse had sat on the arm of the chair and read over her shoulder for a while before he was called away, leaving her alone in the barracks common room.

She welcomed the distraction that was the beep of her comm. “Ahsoka.”

“Snips, Master Plo has just engaged General Grievous on Utapau.”

Her posture straightened as she sat up in surprise. “The Chancellor’s info was right?”

“It seems so. I’m on my way to brief him at the moment. Pass the news on to Rex, would you?”

“Of course. Good luck, Anakin.” She rarely used her master’s name when she spoke to him, but right now, it felt right. Hadn’t they and Rex had enough near-death experiences together to be allowed to speak on a first name basis from time to time?

Her comm beeped in acknowledgement, and she set off to find Rex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through! Thank you for all the support you've given me so far!
> 
> Cut this a little bit shorter than the past few chapters because it was starting to bleed too much into the next one.


	7. Recovery | Retaliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan makes preparations to depart Mandalore as Plo Koon engages General Grievous. Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Rex prepare for the war to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it."  
> – Kreia, KOTOR II

“I understand your mission was a success.”

“Yes, I have Maul in custody.” Obi-Wan answered Master Windu. “The 212th and I are escorting him to Coruscant. We will be there within the next few hours, the last of my troops are pulling out now.” He looked around at those present; Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, Aayla Secura, and Master Yoda. “I was hoping that I could speak with Anakin, is he there?”

“I sent him to inform the Chancellor that General Grievous has indeed been located on Utapau.” Responded Windu. “Commander Wolffe has just reported that they have engaged Grievous.”

“Then the war could be over soon.” Obi-Wan mused.

“That depends on the Chancellor.”

“Indeed. Well, like I said, I will be back in a matter of hours. I am sure that at that time the Council will be able to discuss the best way to go about the removal of the Chancellor from office, if that is necessary. He may yet surprise us.”

“I can only hope that is so. We shall see you soon.”

Obi-Wan stayed still until all the holograms had faded. Surely the Chancellor would not prolong the war? Even in his bid for power, could he really ignore the pleas of his people? Obi-Wan didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

He stepped out of his room and found himself gravitating towards the medical bay. He was met at the door by one of the clone medics assisting them. Obi-Wan had only known him a short time, and yet the man always knew what, or who, he was there to talk to him about. “The commander will be fine, sir. Everything will heal, he just needs rest and fluids.”

“Did they torture him?” Obi-Wan looked back to the end of the medbay, where Cody was warily watching the medical droid attempt to insert an IV.

“I believe so, but nothing that would leave a physical mark. We found traces of ozone on his skin, which leads me to conclude that he was shocked. Despite that, he’s in fairly good spirits.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t help a wry smile as in-good-spirits-Cody began to tell off the medical droid for being unable to find a vein. _‘I’ll stick the bloody thing in myself if you don’t stop prodding! Try this one.’_

“Oh, evidently.” Obi-Wan made his way over to his commander, careful not to bump the medical droid as it prepared the second of two bags of fluid.

“How goes the war, General?” Cody smiled painfully up at him.

“Master Plo and Commander Wolffe have just engaged Grievous on Utapau. And it’s my understanding that Captain Rex is dying to speak to you.”

Cody closed his eyes as the droid bent back down over his arm and attempted a laugh. “I’ll call him later. This _di’kut_ won’t stop stabbing me.”

“If CC-2224 would cooperate this procedure would be done in twenty-nine minutes.” The medical droid snapped back.

Obi-Wan gave the medical droid a sorry smile as he reached down to push Cody’s hair back from his forehead. It was growing long after the past few weeks on the frontlines and only added to Cody’s disheveled appearance. “Did Maul hurt you?”

“Just an electroprod. I can take it.”

“Cody.” Obi-Wan continued to run his fingers through Cody’s hair when he saw how the commander leaned ever so slightly into the gesture, though he knew that the man would fervently deny it later.

Cody opened his eyes again, running them quickly over Obi-Wan’s face before returning to his eyes. “His master has a plan; he wouldn’t stop talking about this plan.”

“What plan? Cody, what plan?”

“He wouldn’t say. Just that we clones are part of it. Part of the plan.” Cody raised his free arm to his head. “I’m sorry, General, I-.”

“It’s okay, Cody. You’re safe here. We’ll be back on Coruscant soon and we can go over this with the Council.”

“Please do not bother my patient any further.” The medical droid requested, pushing Obi-Wan away with a mechanical arm. “He is in capable hands.” Obi-Wan looked down at Cody, who gave him a terse nod of permission. Obi-Wan untangled himself from the medical droid and started off to the bridge, taking one look back to see Cody scolding the droid once more.

* * *

Plo Koon rushed after Grievous’ wheel bike astride the giant varactyl given to him by the locals. At the sight of the descending 104th, Grievous had rushed off from their initial confrontation with one of his MagnaGuard’s staffs, leaving behind his own lightsabers. If this was all the military might that the Separatists had left, a coward who ran at the mere prospect of defeat, Plo had the feeling that Anakin Skywalker’s vision may have been correct. Grievous wouldn’t get away this time.

Despite having only had the varactyl for a few minutes, Plo was becoming quite fond of it. It wove through Pau City in pursuit of the wheel bike with a will that matched his own. In a way, it reminded him of the clones; chosen for a battle for which it had no personal stake but it’s life, and, perhaps, relative living conditions. Perhaps later he could introduce it to Commander Wolffe. Now that would be entertaining.

They were gaining on Grievous now. Plo slashed at the back of the wheel bike with his lightsaber but was too far away to produce a slash of the size necessary to stop Grievous’ descent. With a grateful pat on the neck of his varactyl, Plo threw himself at the occupant of the wheel bike. Grievous snarled, attempting to strike him with the electrostaff. Plo blocked the attack with ease, pushing the staff to the side and taking hold of its handle with his free hand. Having better leverage than the seated Grievous, he pushed the staff into the rapidly spinning wheel and leapt clear. When his tumbling had halted, he found himself face to face with Grievous on a suspended landing platform.

“Give up, General.” Plo cautioned as he rose to his feet. “You will not be able to escape our forces.”

“Jedi scum.” Grievous hacked, reclaiming the electrostaff from the ground. Well, he had tried to reason with him. Plo stepped forward to meet the advancing staff with his lightsaber, only to be surprised when Grievous pulled out a pistol. He hadn’t noticed that. He pulled his lightsaber back to block the shot, successfully knocking the pistol out of Grievous’ hand but losing his own lightsaber to a swipe from the electrostaff in the process. Face to face with Grievous and with no other weapon, he dove closer to the cyborg and tugged open the general’s chest cavity, revealing his organic organs.

Grievous dropped the electrostaff and grabbed Plo Koon instead, throwing him first into his ship, then grabbing him again and flinging him towards the edge of the platform. Plo fought for a grip as he slid, finally finding one in the platform’s edge. His body swung over the sinkhole for a moment before he brought it to a still. He looked up to find Grievous advancing upon him, Plo’s lightsaber held in one of his mechanical hands.

“Your forces are no match for me.” Grievous said as he raised the lightsaber above his head.

Plo prepared himself to swing back onto the platform, he’d only have one chance to stop Grievous now.

A shot rang out.

Grievous stumbled backwards, the lightsaber falling from his hands as his organic internals burst into flames. Plo looked up to where the shot had come from to see Wolffe slowly descending to the platform, aided by his jetpack.

“Need a hand, General?” Wolffe crouched in front of Plo, offering him his hand.

“Thank you, Wolffe.” Plo accepted the outstretched hand of his commander and was hoisted to his feet on the platform. Once away from the precarious edge, he walked over to the middle of the platform to look down on the charred metal that had been General Grievous. He knelt down by the remains, rising again moments later with his lightsaber. “Impeccable timing, as always.” He said as he turned back to Wolffe, who had taken his helmet off to take in the sight.

“Just doing my job, sir.”

“And you have never let me down.”

Wolffe didn’t even try to hide the smile spreading across his lips. For a moment, everything was right in the galaxy.

* * *

Ahsoka found Rex in the first place she looked, the barracks briefing room.

“General Grievous has been engaged on Utapau.” She announced as she walked in, giving them no time to react with formalities.

“Maul’s been captured.” Jesse gestured to the briefing that he and the captain had been looking over. “The 212th is preparing to depart Mandalore and bring him back to Coruscant.”

“Commander Cody?” Ahsoka looked to Rex.

“Still kicking.” Rex grinned. “If it weren’t for Obi-Wan, I think he’d be on Utapau with the 104th right now.”

“The poor bastard.” Jesse shook his head, though his lips were twitching to form a smile. “Can’t even give Grievous a parting punch into the afterlife.”

Ahsoka laughed, joining her men at the briefing table. Dooku, Grievous, Maul, now for Sidious. Sidious, who had orchestrated the Clone Wars if Count Dooku was to be believed. She wondered how much carnage would have never occurred if it weren’t for his influence. She wondered how much different her life could’ve been.

“Ahsoka.” She jolted up to the sound of her name. She must’ve been lost in thought because she hadn’t noticed Jesse leave the room. “Something on your mind?”

She bit her lip, then wondered why she would hide anything from Rex. “As a Jedi, we were trained to be keepers of the peace, not soldiers. But all I’ve been is a soldier. I don’t know if I can be anything else.”

She watched with a bemused smile as Rex’s expression faltered for a moment. “Well, I’ve known no other way. Gives us clones all a mixed feeling about the war. Many people wish it never happened. But without it, we clones wouldn’t exist.”

“Then perhaps some good has come from all of this. The Republic couldn’t have asked for better soldiers, nor I a better friend.” She stepped forward and placed her arm on Rex’s shoulder. She was nearly as tall as he was now, counting her montrals. A far cry from the times she had once only stood as tall his elbow. He placed his hand over hers for a few moments then they both let their hands fall away as they turned back to the briefing table, alerted by a new message running across the hologram.

“General Grievous has been destroyed. They did it.” Rex said incredulously.

“So, what do we do now?” Ahsoka asked after a few moments of stunned silence.

“Wait for General Skywalker to return, I suppose. Not much else we can do.”

“No.” She mused. Finally, Rex turned off the briefing table and she followed him into the hallway. “I guess this is it. I didn’t expect it to be so unclimactic.”

“I’m sure it was much more interesting on Utapau. We’re not going to see any action here on Coruscant.” Rex’s comm beeped and he looked down to read the message. “Cody’s going to comm me in a few minutes. You’re welcome to drop in if you like.”

“I was just about to shower.” She stopped by the doorway to her room. “Besides, I’m sure we’ll all be seeing a lot of each other in the next few days.”

“Of course. I’ll see you later, Ahsoka.”

She waved goodbye as she stepped into her quarters to grab a towel. When she came back out Rex was gone and the hallways were relatively empty as she made her way to the showers.

 _‘Hot water will dry your skin out, you know.’_ She could hear Fives’ voice in her head. But he wasn’t here anymore, so she turned the tap to the extreme and stood with her face under the water. The heat was nearly intolerable, but she welcomed the sensation. It took her mind off the war as it eased the deep aches in her bones. She could hear some of the other shower heads running but paid them no mind. The hesitations she’d once had about sharing the barracks shower had been quelled when she remembered that these were the same men that she showered with for the past three years. Any embarrassment at sharing a shower with a member of the opposite sex was long gone from the moment she’d been asked to please pass the nice soap. If she’d reached into the Force right now, she would’ve found that they barely noticed her presence. In the GAR everyone got so little privacy that they had mastered finding it anywhere they could. That was why she was here in the first place, to give Rex and Cody some privacy. She knew that Cody may not want to discuss the events of the past few days with her present.

Over the next few minutes, the other taps shut off one by one until she was left alone. It must be nearly dinnertime. There were very few reasons that the clones would not take advantage of the unrationed water on Coruscant. She prodded out into the barracks with the Force. The energy coming from the men was cheerful and relaxed, but there was something stirring underneath that she focused in on. Sterling. Vaughn. Ridge. They had closed themselves off from their brothers, and she could feel their discomfort and anticipation. They weren’t the only ones. She could feel more faint signatures of anxiety in the barracks. If she’d continued to look out, she would have found it in many of the battalions on Coruscant. But instead she focused back into their hall, reaching out to Rex. The unease was there too. And growing. She needed to talk to him.

She’d just reached out to the shower controls when a burst of pain erupted in her head and she fell to her knees onto the tile floor.

“You must choose.” The Chancellor? Why would she hear the Chancellor? He sounded like he was in pain.

“Don’t listen to him, Anakin!” And Master Windu.

“It’s not the Jedi way. He must live.” Master Windu was attacking the Chancellor.

“He’s too dangerous to be left alive.”

“Please don’t.”

“I need him!”

And the screaming. Ahsoka pressed her hands into her forehead as if that would dampen the sound. The water that had been a comfort to her stung her skin as if it was electrified.

“What have I done?”

“Anakin.”

* * *

Rex lowered himself onto his bed with a sigh, leaning back against the cold wall. He ran his fingers over the ridges of the holocomm in his hand, waiting for it to chime. He’d never been more grateful for privacy than now. On deployment, he slept in the same room as his men; the Jedi officers were the only ones to have their own private quarters onboard the cruisers. Perhaps if he was on a ship, he’d be taking the call in the officer’s lounge, where he could request a few minutes of solitude. Of course, if he was on a ship the call would be interrupted three minutes in by an emergency. On Coruscant, if there was an emergency Commander Fox would take care of it long before any request for Rex’s help was made. Unless, of course, there was another attack.

The comm chimed, and he answered before the first tone had faded. “Cody.”

“Rex.” The small blue projection of Cody answered. He was propped up against two pillows and Rex could see what appeared to be a medical droid gathering up instruments flickering in and out of the edge of the frame. Rex took note of the series of bruises down Cody’s arm that he recognized from his own experience with the Republic medical droids. Kix would’ve never left so many marks, but Kix wasn’t here anymore.

“You look like hell. How are you feeling?”

“Like hell.” Cody scoffed.

“Did he hurt you?”

“Just an electroprod-”

“Cody.”

“-And the lightsaber wound, but that’s just a scratch. Didn’t even hit the bone.”

Rex took in a frustrated breath. “Cody, he tortured you?”

“I’m fine, Rex. We were made to withstand almost anything. I just need to drink more fluids for a few rotations. That’ll probably stop the headache.”

Rex thought back to Wolffe and his headache. And yet, nothing had happened. They had successfully taken down Grievous and presumably his army. Perhaps they were all becoming susceptible to the changes in weather in their ‘old age’. Besides, Cody had been held by Maul for nearly two days, a headache was squarely in the realm of possibility for aftereffects. “If you so much as sway getting off that ship, I will personally see to it that you are sedated.”

Cody smiled and shook his head. Rex realized how tired the commander looked. “Honestly, Rex. I don’t think I’m going to make it out of this one.”

Rex’s breath caught in his throat as he tried to think of a response.

“I know that everything is fine, and we’ll be back on Coruscanti duracrete in a matter of hours, but I can’t shake this feeling.”

“What feeling?” Rex prodded.

“Like, I’m standing on the edge of a void. And I know that if I fall, I will never be able to get back.”

“It’s just Maul.” Rex had heard of how the dark side of the Force could cause terror in a being. It had to be him. Wolffe was fine, the war was as good as over, everything was going to be okay.

“Maybe.” Cody didn’t sound convinced. “I just need to get back to work.”

“You need to rest, Cody.” As if the commander would ever sit back and let others do his job for him.

“I have rested. Can you imagine this legion without me? It would be chaos.”

Rex laughed. Not matter how bad things seemed, Cody could always bring a smile to his lips. And he had a point. “Remember- you sway, we sedate. I’d hate for you to miss out on the celebration. I know you love the dress greys.”

“Mhm. They really bring out the bags under my eyes. Maybe after the formal dinner we could go get absolutely pissed at Seventy-Nine’s. You, me, Wolffe, Echo, Ahsoka, whoever else wants to join us.”

“Commander Tano is seventeen, Cody. That’s underage.” Though she’d soon be eighteen and drinking age in most systems, Rex still thought of her as the same brash fourteen-year-old he had met on Christophsis when it came to anything but combat.

“Four years older than we are. You can’t protect her forever, Rex. If she can fight in a war and die for the Republic, she can have a drink. Though, with the amount you lot drink, she may swear alcohol off entirely.”

“I’ll make sure Jesse is there if that’s our goal.”

Cody grinned and looked around the medical bay before turning back to Rex conspiratorially. “Do you really think we’re going to win?”

“General Skywalker thinks so. Why not?” Rex couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Count Dooku is dead, General Grievous is dead, you’ve captured Maul. We may have just won the Clone Wars.” As soon as he had said it Rex knew that he was wrong. Fear roared up in his gut and he could’ve sworn he’d seen the flashing of lightsabers behind his eyelids when he blinked.

In that moment, Rex considered telling Cody what Fives had said about the inhibitor chips. He’d thought about it, he’d thought about him, every day. But Fives was killed, General Tiplee was slain by Count Dooku, and Kix had gone missing. Rex was sure that he was next on the list, and he could have never put Cody in that position. Then the moment was over, and the door to his quarters was sliding open to reveal a half-armored Jesse.

“Captain Rex, General Skywalker is on his way back. He wants to see you, sir.”

“I’ll be there.” Rex turned back to Cody, who was scanning over another message on the holocomm.

“I’m needed on the bridge, Rex.”

“Then I suppose duty calls for both of us.” As it always would; whatever it takes.

“I suppose so. I’ll see you on the other side of the war.”

Rex felt a hint of dread still creeping over his shoulder. Surely, the war was over. The Separatists couldn’t continue their onslaught without their military leadership and the man who arranged the war was close to capture. Yet, General Plo was right. There was something he was missing.

He tried to shove the feeling off, taking in his friend’s features; the scar that traced along Cody’s temple, the bags under his eyes that had been there since Christophsis, the unruly curls that were beginning to frame his face. He should’ve noticed them earlier. The time for teasing would come later. But the feeling was still there, and he began to understand how it must feel to stand at the edge of the inescapable void.

“See you on the other side of the war. Take care of yourself, Cody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all already know.


	8. 66 | 66 | 66

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Loyalty means everything to the clones.”  
> – Anakin Skywalker
> 
> Was Palpatine dared by RyanSquad15 to post this now and I figured why not. Triple-whammy this weekend.
> 
> I just want everyone to know that the order I wrote this fic in was prologue, chapter 1, Order 66, epilogue, then various post-Order 66 stuff, then chapter 2 and onwards. I did this so that I couldn’t back out of the events of this chapter very easily and I haven’t deviated from my original plot.

“He wiped his hyperspace travel and fuel records.”

Wolffe growled and raised his comm. “Any update on the Separatist leaders?”

“No, sir. We think they may have fled the planet.” One of his men responded.

“Keep looking.” Wolffe huffed, resisting the urge to kick the burnt remains of General Grievous over the edge of the platform.

“Patience, Wolffe. I am sure that a solution will present itself.” Plo Koon stepped out of the cockpit of the fighter and sat on the wing next to Wolffe. “Even if we fail in our efforts now, you did very well in destroying Grievous.”

Wolffe took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. “Thank you, General Plo. It’s been an honor to serve with you, sir.”

“The honor has been mine, Commander.”

A beep from a comm interrupted them. Wolffe reached into the hidden compartment on his belt and pulled out the holocomm that he had never used before, though he knew its purpose. “It’s the Chancellor.”

“Then you had best take it.” General Plo patted Wolffe on the shoulder. Wolffe nodded and walked across the platform to take the call. The Chancellor appeared in his hand, at least, it should’ve been the Chancellor. He didn’t recognize the hooded man before him, but he did know his voice, and he did know his command.

“It is time. Execute Order 66.”

Wolffe felt strangely empty. “Yes, my Lord.” The hologram of the Chancellor faded away and he put the holocomm back into the compartment. Clone Protocol 66. He hadn’t thought about the contingency protocols in years. He was surprised that he remembered them. Then again, they’d been engrained in him through his training.

“Are you alright, son?” His general, the supposed traitor. Wolffe was suddenly aware of the blaster he had taken into his hands.

“Stay back!” If Plo was out of reach, he wasn’t an aggressor. If he wasn’t an aggressor, Wolffe didn’t have to kill him. But those had been his orders, and good soldiers follow orders. Wolffe was a good soldier, he followed orders.

And yet, he could feel something else stirring. The feeling of dread that had been trickling down his spine reached a downpour. If General Plo was a traitor, he would’ve felt it. He knew his brothers were dying. He couldn’t have explained how, but he knew that across the galaxy clones were being killed by the Jedi. His hand began to tremble. But not his Jedi. They weren’t being killed by his Jedi, and they had fired first. This was all a misunderstanding. Any moment now a counterorder would be given and they could grieve. But the order didn’t come. He was muttering something under his breath, a phrase that had been encoded in him for as long as he could remember, that was so familiar to him that he didn’t register his chant.

“Wolffe. Let me help you.” General Plo took a step in his direction, Wolffe scrambled backwards to keep the distance between them as he raised the blaster.

“Stay away from me.” Maybe if he backed up then Wolffe could lower his blaster. He needed to lower his blaster. He needed to lower his blaster after he had fired it and obeyed orders like a good soldier. General Plo was lying to him, he would kill him too. But General Plo wasn’t lying and Wolffe could feel waves of concern coming off the man. He wanted to help; the Chancellor was wrong. Wolffe couldn’t breathe.

“Wolffe.” He took another step closer, too close. His hands were at his side, his lightsaber could spring into his hand at any moment and he could kill Wolffe. He was going to kill him. The Chancellor was right, he wanted to kill him; the Jedi were traitors.

Wolffe had orders, and he was a good soldier. He followed his orders.

He barely registered the slight pressure he put on the trigger, the kickback of the blaster in his hand, or the tears falling from his eyes. The only thing he could see was the look of betrayal on his former general’s face as he died.

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi stood side-by-side with Commander Cody, looking over Mandalore from the bridge of their Venator, watching the return of the last of their forces from the surface. A clone carrying a datapad approached from behind.

“General Kenobi, Commander Cody, the latest briefing has come in.”

“Thank you, Wooley. We’ll take it in the command center.” Cody turned to Obi-Wan. “Want to have a look?”

Obi-Wan smiled. “I’m sure it’s more good news, but alright.” He followed his commander to the briefing room, closing the door behind them. In the sound of the door, he missed the chime of a holocomm. “From what I understand, Master Plo has managed to retake Utapau completely. However, Separatist leadership is nowhere to be found on the planet. They must have fled when the Wolfpack showed up. Maybe this briefing will have more on information on-, Cody, are you listening?”

Cody stood still, holding his helmet in one hand and the holocomm in the other. He slowly returned the holocomm to his belt as he let his helmet fall to the floor.

“Cody?” Obi-Wan stepped forward. Cody’s eyes were glassy and unfocused, his pupils dilated so much as to nearly hide the golden of his irises. “Cody, CC-2224, can you hear me?” Cody blinked slowly, as if it was an effort, then raised his blaster from its holster.

The first shot missed. The second would have hit its target had Obi-Wan’s lightsaber not sprung into his hands. “Cody!”

“Good soldiers follow orders; good soldiers follow orders.” Cody was muttering under his breath as he advanced upon Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan ducked under another blaster shot and raked his lightsaber across the door controls, sealing them in.

“Cody, you are a good soldier. Fight it!” Obi-Wan blocked the next two shots but was unable to block Cody’s lunge. Cody’s fingers wrapped around Obi-Wan’s throat and pushed him into the wall. Obi-Wan reached into the Force and flung Cody across the small room. Cody’s head made contact with the metal wall, and he fell limp to the floor.

Obi-Wan advanced slowly towards the clone, stopping and stepping back when Cody rolled over onto his side. Where his head had been was a smear of blood.

“Kill me.”

Obi-Wan walked over to his commander with caution. Though Cody’s blaster lay halfway across the room behind Obi-Wan the man was still exceptionally skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Obi-Wan knelt by Cody’s side, tensed for an attack that never came.

“Obi-Wan.” The sound of his name brought his focus to Cody’s face. His pupils were no longer dilated, and his eyes focused on Obi-Wan’s face. “Please kill me. I can’t-,“ his body jerked in on itself, “-soldiers follow-” as he let out a pained gasp, “-I can’t stop it.”

Obi-Wan gathered his injured commander in his arms and pressed Cody’s forehead into the crook of his neck, his hand resting on the nape as he tapped into Cody’s presence in the Force. The commander’s energy was weak and pained. And fading. Obi-Wan came to a decision. He found Cody’s heartbeat with his sword-hand and shakily pressed the hilt of his lightsaber against the drumming.

“Please, Obi-Wan.” A pained mutter into Obi-Wan’s shoulder. He felt Cody grasp the lightsaber hilt below his hand, holding it steady. In the Force, Cody’s energy began to flicker, disappearing into nothingness.

“I’m sorry, Cody.” Obi-Wan ran his fingers through Cody’s hair for a few moments before his hand stilled, holding the commander’s face against his robes, and he pressed down on the activator of his lightsaber. Cody jerked once in his grasp, letting out a muffled cry, then was still.

* * *

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

Anakin looked horrible. He refused to look Rex in the eye, focusing instead on the right cheek. For many beings this would have been an imperceptible slight, but for a solider it was horrific. What orders could come from a general who was unable to look his men in the eye as he gave them a command? He waited until the door to the barracks briefing room closed before he spoke.

“I did, Commander Rex. I need you to prepare the men.”

“Sir, what’s going on?”

Anakin set a hand on Rex’s shoulder and was finally able to make eye contact with his right-hand man. “You’ve been promoted, Rex, to lead the march on the Jedi Temple.” Rex’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the words to form a response. He was getting a headache. Surely, he had misinterpreted what General Skywalker had said? “The Jedi have betrayed the Republic, Rex. I watched Master Windu attempt to assassinate the Chancellor myself. We must subdue them before they make another attempt to overthrow the Republic.”

“Yes, sir.” It was all he could say. Rex trusted Anakin. The man had never lied to him, had entrusted him with protecting the secret of his marriage. Rex was prepared to give his life for his general, or for Padme, or for Ahsoka. It was what he was meant to do, but it was also the ultimate way for him to thank Anakin for his honesty, hell, for his friendship. But the Jedi, traitors of the Republic?

“Find me when the 501st is ready.” Anakin squeezed Rex’s shoulder, then let his hand fall as he left the briefing room.

Rex couldn’t find it in himself to reach for his comm. His hands hung limply at his sides as he thought about what he would have to do. What his men would have to do. He reached back for the ache in the back of his skull and ran his hands along his close-shorn hair as he tried to pinpoint the location of the lingering pain. Then an agony exploded in his chest. Rex grasped at his breastplate as he fell to his knees, feeling as though his heart was on fire in his chest. Then as quickly as it started, the pain stopped.

Tears splashed down onto his armor, which remained white and uncharred. _‘Cody._ ’ His lips moved to form his brother’s name, but no sound came out. They had just talked, he had just been alive, but the only difference between Cody dead and Cody alive was the burn of blasterfire on his breast.

No.

A lightsaber.

This time, he had no issue raising the comm to his lips.

* * *

Obi-Wan set the body down gently, trying not to look at the two wet patches on his shoulder, or the blood on his hand, or notice the tears that leaked down his own cheeks. He failed on all counts, and the pain of Cody’s loss was added to the myriad of pain he was feeling through the force. He could feel Jedi being slain all across the galaxy, betrayed by the men who had served them for the past three years. He could feel the clones now too. A million voices in the Force. A wave of panic then silence in each battalion as they received the command. There was nothing he could do to help them. Obi-Wan lay Cody’s hand over his ruined chest and pushed his hair away from his face for the last time. With the wound covered, he could have been sleeping. But the dark hole in the force around the body said otherwise.

“Commander!” There was a banging on the doors. Obi-Wan looked around desperately for an escape. He found one in the ventilation system above the command table. A tight fit, but he had no other choice. No sooner had he closed the grate behind him when the doors fell inward and clone troopers advanced into the room, blasters drawn. Not daring to move for fear of making noise, Obi-Wan watched as one knelt by Cody’s body. Wooley set a hand on Cody’s chest, the other reaching for the exposed skin of Cody’s throat.

After a few moments Wooley rose and shook his head. “He’s dead, Captain.”

Another yellow-painted clone walked over and knelt by the body. He removed Cody’s hand from his heart and examined the burn.

“The Jedi killed him.” He stood up again. “Jettison the escape pods and send as many men as we can spare to guard the hanger. The Jedi must pay for his treason.”

Obi-Wan waited until the clones had left the room before shimmying further into the air ducts. He went as far as the maintenance halls before he dropped down from the shaft. The maintenance halls were empty, but he was careful to keep his footsteps light so as to not alert the clone troopers below of his presence. They were out for blood now, not simply following orders but looking to avenge the death of a brother they had all looked up to. Obi-Wan could feel their sadness and anger radiating through the Force.

When he found himself above a deserted hallway he brought out his comm. “Arfour, I need you to start up my fighter.” He stopped to listen to the string of beeps that came as a response. “If the clones ask, tell them that you have been ordered to destroy it.”

If there was a response he would never know. He shut the comm off when he heard the sound of blast doors opening beneath him. After the clones had passed, he continued through the maintenance halls until he found himself standing on the edge of the hanger. A platoon of men awaited him, standing before the doors with their hands resting on the handles of their blasters. If he moved quietly, he could perhaps slip by unnoticed. His ship was only two bays down, he could hear the hum of the engines. Using the Force, he opened the grate covering the entrance to the hall, and slipped out into the shadows of the hanger bay. He replaced the cover just as softly, and moved quickly towards his fighter, keeping to the shadows and using the Force to boost his speed and muffle his footsteps. He was climbing into the cockpit when one of the troopers turned back in a stretch.

“The Jedi!” The platoon turned, raising their blasters as Obi-Wan flung himself into the cockpit. He began to take off before the canopy had fully shut, raising the shields as soon as it sealed around him. He managed to not catch any of the blaster fire himself but heard the unmistakable squeal of an astromech as R4-P17 was hit. As soon as the shields were raised he launched his fighter into the sky, the force of the engines flinging several clones across the hanger floor.

R4 had already opened the hanger doors in preparation for the supposed destruction of the fighter and Obi-Wan set his course back towards Mandalore. Several ARC-170 fighters and some Y-wings that had accompanied the Venator turned to follow him. Obi-Wan grimaced as the fighters opened fire. Some shots collided with his starfighter but were held off by the shields. For now. He needed somewhere to go. Obi-Wan found himself punching in the coordinates for Coruscant out of habit. He would have time to think on the journey and perhaps change his destination. But if he stayed over Mandalore, he would be shot down by the men he had once commanded. Once the jump had been calculated he swerved back towards the Venator, passing through the line of fighters that pursued him, aiming for his hyperspace ring. One of the ARC-170s swerved off to pursue him, no doubt realizing his intention. But they were too far behind. Obi-Wan always kept a hyperspace loop active in case he was needed somewhere away from his fleet, and he was thankful for that preparation now. The loop locked around his fighter. With the pull of a lever, Obi-Wan left Mandalore and the 212th behind.

* * *

Ahsoka knew something was wrong. She sat in Rex’s bunk with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. When she had returned from the showers Rex had been gone. So, she’d waited. The words she had heard rattled around inside her head. Anakin was in such pain. She didn’t know what to do. Rex always knew what to do. Then another wave of pain hit her. Rex. He needed her. Sensing a presence at the door she stood up.

The door slid open, but instead of Rex she found Anakin standing before her. With a soft cry she flung herself into her master’s arms and he wrapped his arms around her as she let out a loud sob. Anakin ran his hand down her back headtail and held her until her breathing evened out.

“Ahsoka, something terrible has happened. The Republic has been betrayed.”

“Betrayed? By who?” Surely not-

“The Jedi Council.”

Ahsoka wanted to push Anakin away. She wanted to scream. And yet, she believed him. The Council had been so willing to throw her out without hearing her side of the story, even Master Yoda had admitted how the Dark Side of the Force was clouding their judgement. It was not impossible that they had fallen to its manipulations. Besides, Anakin had never lied to her. He had always had her back, unconditionally, and had trusted her with so many of his secrets. She couldn’t believe that he’d turn on her now.

“I want you to go to Padme and protect her for me. I would go myself, or send Rex, but we’re needed elsewhere. I need you to keep her safe. I’ll explain everything when it’s over.”

And how could she say no to that? She pulled away from his arms and nodded. “Yes, Master.”

Anakin escorted her out of the barracks to a waiting speeder. They didn’t pass anyone on their way out and she wondered where the clones were. Surely they were rallying to protect the Senate or the Chancellor.

“Take my speeder, I’ll find you when this is over.”

She nodded again, slipping behind the controls. Before she took off from the platform she looked back. There was Anakin, robes billowing in the wind. Behind him she saw Rex step out of the door to the barracks. She couldn’t read his helmeted expression and for a moment she felt guilty about leaving him behind, but Anakin would be there for him, as he always had been. Right now, Padme needed her.

* * *

Anakin watched the speeder shoot off into the Coruscant sky. Once it was out of sight, he brought out a holocomm.

“My Lord, my apprentice is out of our way.”

“Well done, Lord Vader.” Responded the hologram of Darth Sidious. “Are your men ready?”

Anakin gestured for Rex to join them and he approached. At Anakin’s side he stopped and saluted Sidious. “The 501st is ready, sir.”

Sidious nodded. “Commander, it is time to execute Order 66.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to issue a personal apology to everyone who has commented on this work. You guys tried your best to stop my murder spree but, alas, I didn’t want to rewrite the last four chapters.
> 
> Also! A mini essay on the headaches since I realize that was kinda confusing: The idea was for them to feel the effect of the chips ahead of time through the Force in combination with the feeling of dread. The ones who were going to attack their generals were feeling the chip ahead of time whereas Rex, whose Jedi family comes out relatively unscathed, didn’t feel it until his brothers were given the command because he wasn’t as directly affected (though we’re diving into that next chapter). I had a line that I deleted during the Rex-Wolffe conversation about how Rex had occasionally felt the headaches but they stopped when Ahsoka chose to rejoin the Order, changing the timeline so that he no longer attacked her. So, he started feeling the dread (minus the headache) when Anakin got directly involved in the Chancellor’s office, whereas as soon as Wolffe was put on the path to Utapau it popped up. Sinker was feeling fine as he didn’t directly participate in the order, the 501st aren’t getting the headaches but once Anakin gets involved they start to feel the dread, and Rex starts to feel Cody’s headache as they’re connected in the Force following their conversation.
> 
> And while we’re here I want to drop my favorite foreshadowing line from chapter 6: “If [Obi-Wan] couldn’t save Cody, the least he could do would be to hold him as he died.”
> 
> Thanks everyone!


	9. Ruin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Rex struggle with their sense of duty in the wake of Order 66

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It’s not a thrilling climax; it’s not the culmination of an epic struggle. Just the opposite, in fact. The Clone Wars were never an epic struggle. They were never intended to be. […] The Clone Wars have always been, in and of themselves, from their very inception, the revenge of the Sith.”  
> \- Revenge of the Sith novelization

Obi-Wan stared blankly at the blues waves of hyperspace before him. R4 was gone, so many Jedi were gone, Anakin- he couldn’t think about Anakin right now. He and Ahsoka were still on Coruscant with the 501st. Ahsoka had practically moved into their barracks. He could only hope that she hadn’t been there when the order had been given. An army commissioned by Count Dooku. And they had trusted them. Obi-Wan remembered an incident where one of Anakin’s clones had gone rogue and killed a Jedi. How could they have been so foolish to overlook that? Or maybe the Sith Lord in the Senate had covered it up. They had been so close to discovering their identity, and now they never would. Maul was probably dead. The Sith would have never left such a loose end lying around at the pinnacle of their plot. Cody had heard some of it. The plan. That clones had been part of the plan. Maybe, if they’d had enough time they could have stopped it. If they had reached Coruscant and spoken before the Council they could have pieced it all together. That would never happen now. Cody was dead, preferring death to blind servitude. Maul was in the hands of the 212th. And the Jedi Council, they must have been destroyed. They all must have been destroyed. No loose ends. No survivors.

A series of beeps from his comm came to his attention. The Jedi recall code. It meant that the war was over, that it was time for the Jedi to return home. It was a trap. Obi-Wan reached for his comm.

“Emergency code nine-thirteen. This is Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Silence greeted him. “Repeat, code nine-thirteen. This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is anyone out there?”

“Master Kenobi.” A hologram sprung to life in his cockpit. It couldn’t be-.

“Senator Organa. My clone troopers turned on me. I need help.”

“We have just rescued Master Yoda. It appears this ambush has happened everywhere. We’re sending you our coordinates.”

“Have you heard from anyone else?”

A pause. Obi-Wan knew the answer before Bail spoke. “No.”

“Coordinates received. Thank you, Senator Organa.” Obi-Wan plugged the new coordinates into the hyperspace drive and set off to the rendezvous.

* * *

The Jedi Temple was in ruins. Fires ravaged its halls and rooms, caring not whether the things they consumed were inorganic or corpses. Dead clones and dead Jedi littered the floors. The living clones still patrolled for Jedi survivors and their wounded brethren. The medics had been the first to withdraw from the attack to treat their brothers. Now the wounded were being taken off-site. Commander Rex watched his brothers being carried out from one of the balconies in the main auditorium. His still posture betrayed none of his racing thoughts. It had been a long night, and the dawn would not bring him comfort. He didn’t think that anything would bring him comfort for a very long time.

At the sound of approaching footsteps Rex turned to face his general.

“Commander, I have just received new orders. You and the 501st are to remain here and ensure that the Temple is secured. I am needed elsewhere. Answer to no one but myself and the Chancellor.”

“Yes, sir!” Rex watched after his general as he strode out of the doors. Once Lord Vader was out of sight- when had he become Lord Vader to him?- Rex took off his helmet and set his forehead against one of the cold stone pillars of the Temple in an attempt to calm his churning mind. Anakin Skywalker, Lord Vader, when had they switched? Was it before or after he had given the order for Operation Knightfall? Did the difference matter?

He pressed his head harder against the stone as his stomach heaved. But nothing came up but bile. He hadn’t eaten in the last rotation, there was nothing to vomit. He spat the bile out and turned to see Jesse standing behind him. Jesse had always been light of step, and his footfalls had been lost in the sizzle of destruction.

“Commander Rex, are you okay, sir?”

“I’m fine, Lieutenant. Just the smoke.”

Jesse slowly took off his helmet and stepped closer to his commander. The effect of the inhibitor chips on the clones was beginning to wear off. His pupils had returned to a normal size, and his eyes were misty.

“Rex, do you really believe that the Jedi betrayed the Republic?” A whisper. Nobody but the dead was around to hear their voices, and the crackling fires that burned in the lower auditorium sheltered their conversation from their brothers below, but dread still hung in the air around them.

“I don’t think it matters anymore, Jesse. They betrayed _us_. I felt General Kenobi kill Cody. And here, even their younglings and padawans struck us down.”

“In self-defense, Rex. You can’t tell me that this was justified. I killed children!”

“You killed Jedi.” Rex wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Jesse, or himself.

“I killed children. I don’t know why I did it.” Jesse scoffed. “I mean, I do know why. I was ordered to kill them. But we’ve never listened to orders before. What changed?”

“Jesse.” Rex closed the distance between them and lay his hand on Jesse’s pauldron. “Not another word, I don’t want to lose you too.”

Jesse’s eyes widened and he stiffened under Rex’s grip. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Rex’s heart broke at the fear in Jesse’s eyes. Jesse had never been afraid of him before. But he would have to be now, for his own sake. If Lord Vader had heard him questioning orders, he’d be dead. Rex had watched it happen to at least one of his men who had refused to fire on a youngling. There had been a snap, and his brother had fallen like a ragdoll. He didn’t remember his name.

Rex couldn’t remember who had died or who he had killed. He didn’t want to remember. If he remembered, he couldn’t live with himself. He almost couldn’t bear it anyways. Fives. Fives had been right and he had been killed for it, executed under the order of the Chancellor. Perhaps, so was Kix. Rex hadn’t been there for him as he had been for Fives. He had failed so many. Ahsoka. He’d never be able to look her in the eye again. Did she know what was going on? Was she still alive? If alive, did she know that he had killed her people? He had seen her leave the barracks but didn’t know where she had gone. He could only hope that it was to a place where there were no clones. He couldn’t believe that Anakin would send his padawan to be slaughtered. But Darth Vader, he just might.

“Commander, are you with me?” Jesse had both hands on his shoulders, he could feel his grip through the plastoid.

Rex blinked away his distress. He couldn’t think of those things now. He had orders, and while the small voice in his head had grown weaker it still whispered to him that _good soldiers follow orders_. “Yeah, yeah I’m with you. Come, I want men stationed at every door and access point to this building. Nobody gets in, nobody gets out. No survivors.”

* * *

“Anakin!” Padme leapt from the couch to greet Anakin at her balcony, followed closely by Ahsoka. “Are you all right? We heard there was an attack on the Jedi Temple. You could see the smoke from here!”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” Anakin took his wife into his arms and held her close. Before, Ahsoka would have looked away. Now, her eyes clung to the display of affection as if it was her world. If she focused hard enough, it could be. “I came to see if the three of you are safe.”

“What’s happening?” Padme pulled back slightly to look him in the eye.

“The Jedi have tried to overthrow the Republic.”

“But you said it was just the Council?” Ahsoka stepped forward to bring some of Anakin’s attention to herself.

“I saw Master Windu attempt to assassinate the Chancellor myself. But it seems that the treason of the Jedi ran deeper than we initially thought.”

“But what about the other Jedi? Master Plo wasn’t a traitor.”

“Master Plo wasn’t on Coruscant. Perhaps he has come around to see the error of his ways.”

But Ahsoka knew he was dead. She hadn’t yet tried to reach out to him in the Force, she’d been so overwhelmed by the numbing pain of the day, but there was something inside of her telling her that there was no point in trying. She knew the pain that killing any of his men would’ve inflicted on Master Plo. She wondered if Wolffe had been the one to do it. In a way, she hoped so. It would’ve been quick.

“Anakin, what are you going to do?” Padme asked.

Anakin took a step away from Padme, turning to gaze over Coruscant. Smoke from the still-burning Temple filtered across the horizon, the smell still permeating the cityscape. Ahsoka stopped her mind from imagining what it looked like inside. She wouldn’t allow herself to grieve until everything was over. She needed to remain strong for Anakin, for Padme, for their unborn child. They were counting on her.

“I will not betray the Republic.” Anakin finally said. “My loyalties lie with the Chancellor, with the Senate, and with you.”

“What about Obi-Wan?” Padme reached back out for her husband, holding onto his hands.

“I don’t know. Many Jedi have been killed. We can only hope that he’s remained loyal to the Chancellor.”

“Anakin.” Padme’s voice broke and he pulled her back into his embrace. Ahsoka stepped forward and lay her hand on Padme’s shoulder. She could be strong for her. She had to be strong for her or the images of her burning home would take over. She let a tear slide down her cheek anyways. She wished that Anakin had brought Rex with him. She refused to imagine what Rex was doing now, or what he had done. But at the same time, she refused to imagine that he was dead.

“Have faith, my love. Everything will soon be set right.” Anakin pulled back from the embrace, fixing his gaze on Ahsoka. “The Chancellor has given us a very important mission. The Separatists have gathered on Mustafar. We’re going there to end this war.”

“I shouldn’t, Master. I should stay here with Padme.”

Anakin shook his head. “I need you with me, Ahsoka. We can end the Clone Wars, this may be our only chance.”

“Okay.” She spoke softly and moved to stand by his side.

Anakin turned his gaze back to Padme. “Wait for me until I return. Things will be different, I promise.” He moved in to kiss her, and now Ahsoka looked away. There was no plausible deniability there. “Please, wait for me.”

The next thing Ahsoka knew was that she was sitting behind her master in the cockpit of a starfighter as the lights of Coruscant faded behind them.

* * *

Wolffe didn’t look up as the door to the cabin slid open. Two of his brothers stepped inside, closing the door once more behind them.

“Commander?” Boost prompted. “Do you mind the company?”

Wolffe didn’t answer, keeping his gaze on the lightsaber he held in his hands.

“We’ll leave if you want us to, but we’d rather stay.” Sinker added.

They both looked around the cabin as they waited for a response or any acknowledgement of their presence. A Jedi’s robe still hung on a hook by the door. It would have to be burned soon lest it be seen as inspiring. If they looked in the trunk at the end of the cabin they would have found some of the very few possessions of their former general. But they didn’t.

It took Boost shifting his weight towards the door for Wolffe to speak.

"Stay.”

So they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than previous chapters, but the conversation between Jesse and Rex may be one of my favorite things I’ve ever written in terms of pacing. See you guys next week for another maybe-painful chapter!
> 
> And thank you for over 1,000 views!! I was so excited to see that this week. This is my first work to pass that mark.


	10. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka follows Anakin to Mustafar, leaving the 501st to guard the Jedi Temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins. It always wins because it is everywhere. […] The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.”  
> \- Revenge of the Sith novelization
> 
> Almost forgot to cut the line *hello naughty children it’s slaughter time* from my document before posting.

Rex stared at his reflection in the mirror. He clicked the flashlight in his hand back on and shined it into the reflection of his eyes. His pupils contracted once more, and when they light was pulled away again they began to slowly dilate to a normal size. The influence of the chip was gone. Rex rubbed his eyes and reached for his comm. Ridge should have checked in by now. His check-in time had come and passed in the last minute and while Rex wasn’t one to berate his men over a minute, it was concerning.

“This is Commander Rex, Ridge come in.” He waited for a response and received none. “Ridge, please acknowledge.” He was already moving to the barracks door. He’d been a fool to listen to Jesse. “Jesse, come in.”

“You don’t sound like you’re asleep, sir.”

“Where is Ridge?”

“Guarding the Temple entrance as you ordered. I’m going over there now for a breath of fresh air. He didn’t check in with you?”

“No. Be careful, Jesse.” Rex had to stop himself from pleading with the man. Jesse was an ARC now, he’d gone through the same training Rex had and more recently at that. He didn’t need a lecture on precautions. Rex made his way to the speeder hanger and vaulted into the one closest to the door. He didn’t hear from Jesse again until he was in the air.

“Rex, they’re dead. If I had to guess, I’d say a lightsaber killed them.”

“I’m nearly there, don’t approach the Jedi alone.”

“I’m going to regroup with the others in the lower atrium. We’ll be there when you arrive.”

Rex landed the speeder outside the door of the Jedi Temple, leaping out before its momentum had ceased. He knelt by his nearest brother, searching for signs of life among the fallen bodies. He found none. But Jesse’s observation had been correct. They were killed by a lightsaber. Rex scowled and drew his blasters before entering the Temple.

* * *

Ahsoka looked down onto the burning wastes of Mustafar as they landed. In times before, she would have surely said a little quip like ‘why do the bad guys always have to pick scary bases?’ In times before, one of the clones would have surely responded ‘aesthetic.’ In times before, Anakin would have surely laughed at them. But there was no laughter, no jokes, and no clones today. Not for the first time, she reached for her comm and rolled it between her fingers. All she would have to do was press a button and she would know if Rex was alive. Not even that, if she’d reached out far enough into the Force she would be given the same answer. But she did neither. It was better to not know. Ahsoka had always associated fear with the gut-clenching adrenaline rush of falling, but now she could understand fear as a cold dread creeping over her shoulders. She shuddered and pulled her cloak tighter. It wasn’t hers, but it smelled like her clothes anyways. Maybe her men weren’t physically with her, but she still wore their bodysuit and cloak and she knew that they would be there in spirit if they knew where she was.

When their landing gear touched down she dismounted after Anakin, flinching back at the wave of heat that greeted her. While she had sought a hot shower for sensation yesterday, she now found it overwhelming.

“Artoo, stay with the ship.” Anakin commanded as he strode ahead.

Ahsoka looked back and gave the astromech a fond shrug in response to his less than affectionate string of beeps. Once out of R2’s hearing she spoke for the first time in hours. “We’re not going to negotiate with these sleemos are we?”

Anakin stopped and looked back at her. “No. The Confederacy of Independent Systems has refused to negotiate for peace. The Chancellor has ordered us to eradicate them before they regroup and strike against the Republic.”

“Their new superweapon?”

“Our spies indicate that it’s nearly complete. But if we act now, we can end this before we’re drawn back into the war.”

If they didn’t end the war now, more clones would die. Her friends, her brothers, would die if she and Anakin failed. “I understand, Master.”

* * *

Obi-Wan was reeling from the footage he had just seen. Anakin… it wasn’t possible. He took a small amount of solace that he hadn’t seen Ahsoka at his side, but that was only one recording. But it was just as likely that she was dead, if not by Anakin blade then perhaps at Rex’s hands. He had seen a set of jaig eyes in the periphery of the recording. Of course, when Anakin had fallen, he had brought the entire 501st with him.

Obi-Wan faltered when Yoda stopped before him. He looked up to follow Yoda’s gaze. Between them and the doors stood Rex, dual blasters drawn at his hips, blocking their path. Obi-Wan hadn’t sensed his presence in the building before. He must have just arrived.

“Captain Rex.” Obi-Wan greeted sourly.

“Commander Rex, now.” Obi-Wan took notice of Rex’s missing pauldron. He hoped that Ahsoka hadn’t been killed for Rex’s gain.

“I see. Master Yoda, l would suggest that you take another route to our destination.”

“That would seem wise, Obi-Wan. Meet you at the ship, I will.” Obi-Wan drew his lightsaber as the small Jedi Master went back to a staircase into the lower auditorium they had just passed.

“I don’t want to do this, Rex.” But Obi-Wan knew that Rex didn’t have a choice. Just like Cody. CT-7567 raised his blaster and began firing upon Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan reached into the Force and shoved him backwards, sending him flying across the walkway before them. CT-7567 rolled to his feet and resumed fire before his momentum had ceased. He was accustomed to being thrown by the Force.

“Is that what you told my men before you slaughtered them? That you didn’t want to do it? I saw the carnage you left behind.” Obi-Wan continued to block CT-7567’s shots. He had yet to send any back in the commander’s direction, but he was afraid that that might soon change.

“I didn’t have a choice, Rex.”

“Jedi always have a choice.” Not clones. Clones didn’t get the final say in the matter. Obi-Wan sent a bolt back at CT-7567, knocking one of the blasters from his hands. Using the Force, Obi-Wan sent it over the edge of the walkway. He advanced towards the clone. It was time to end this.

CT-7567 raised his remaining blaster and fired once more at Obi-Wan. They were too close. Obi-Wan made a choice. He swung his lightsaber in an arc, deflecting the blast. For the last time that day Obi-Wan heard the sound of boiling plastoid as a wound opened up from the clone’s waist to his shoulder. CT-7567 fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Obi-Wan kicked the remaining gun aside and advanced on the fallen clone. He used the Force to remove the man’s helmet, he needed to know if he had killed him. With the helmet gone, Obi-Wan found himself staring into CT-7567’s eyes. Except they weren’t. They weren’t the eyes of CT-7567, nor of CC-2224, nor any of the helmetless clones guarding the Temple entry. Rex raised his head to look at Obi-Wan and bared his teeth in a snarl.

“Cody is dead.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” There wasn’t anything else to say. Nothing Obi-Wan could have said would’ve helped. They were far beyond that.

“You killed him.”

“Yes.” There was no point in denying it.

“Traitor.” Rex’s head fell back against the temple floor. The single word burned into Obi-Wan, joining the day’s pain. In a way, it was Rex’s death. The death of the captain he had known before, had fought beside over the last three years. Perhaps Rex’s physical death as well. His hands never reached for the gash across his torso, remaining limp at his side. Obi-Wan didn’t know if that was good or bad, he didn’t want to know how deeply his blade had cut into the clone’s chest. He suspected that either way, the pain of the wound was dulled by the pain of his betrayal. Order 66 was over, maybe for Rex it had been over from before their confrontation, but it didn’t matter anymore. Obi-Wan had betrayed the clones just as they had betrayed him. First Cody, then the many who had stood in his path as he and Master Yoda entered the Temple, and now Rex. “Anakin was right about the Jedi.” The words were soft, not snarled through bared teeth like the others, but Rex’s eyes seethed in quiet rage and pain.

Obi-Wan knew what he should’ve done. He should’ve set his blade into Rex’s heart, watched as his chest stopped heaving and the light left his eyes, watched his pain end. He wished Rex would’ve fought back after he’d fallen, made it easier for Obi-Wan to end his life. But Obi-Wan found himself unable to raise his lightsaber. So instead he turned to follow Yoda out of the ruins of the place he had once called home.

He was nearly to the doors when he heard the anguished scream. He turned back to the temple to see a clone, an ARC trooper, running up a flight of stairs onto the walkway. Obi-Wan’s grip tightened on his lightsaber, but the clone didn’t turn towards him. He stopped by Rex’s body, pulling off his own helmet as he crashed to his knees. “Rex, Rex, stay with me.” The clone pulled his limp commander into his lap, cradling him close. “Not like this.”

Obi-Wan knew the clone. His name was Jesse. Maybe it still was, maybe he was CT-5597 now. Either way, he was fiercely loyal to Rex. Obi-Wan watched for a moment, listening to Jesse’s pleas for Rex to stay awake, to stay alive, hoping to see the commander stir, but Rex remained limp and unmoving in his brother’s arms. Jesse screamed for a medic and that was when Obi-Wan knew he had to go. He had killed enough clones today. Obi-Wan whispered a silent apology before he crossed the threshold of the temple, stepping out of the smoky air into the weak sunlight of Coruscant.

* * *

Ahsoka stumbled as new wave of agony reached her. Rex. He was alive, and he was in pain. A battle droid took notice of her panic and advanced towards her. She growled and pulled it into the blade of her lightsaber. She should have stayed on Coruscant. She should have stayed with Rex. The galaxy just had to fall apart when she was in the shower.

Another Separatist made a break for the door. She halted his forward momentum and with a few strides was able to strike him down with her lightsaber. Frustration churned within her at their feeble attempts to flee.

“Cowards.” She spat under her breath. She couldn’t imagine the clones giving up and running in the face of defeat, nor even the battle droids that the Separatists employed to do their dirty work. Her frustration was at a boiling point. It boiled over at the next Separatist who tried to run from Anakin. Ahsoka reached into the Force to stop her and the Geonosian stopped in her tracks, reaching for her throat. This time, Ahsoka did not step forward. Instead she squeezed her fingers together and watched the Geonosian’s neck crumple under her power. The Geonosian hit the floor and Ahsoka felt the sickening feeling of satisfaction. For a moment, guilt surged within her as she thought about what the clones or Master Plo would have said, but only for a moment. In her position, she thought, they would do the same.

She stepped forward to prevent the coward Nute Gunray from scrambling towards the doors. He backed into the table instead, looking back and forth between her and the advancing Anakin.

“The war is over.” He tried to plead. “Lord Sidious promised us peace. We only want-.” His pleas were cut off by Anakin’s lightsaber and he fell to the floor.

“Master, Tambor.” Ahsoka pointed to the conference room door that the Skakoan was fleeing through. Anakin nodded and strode after him, leaving Ahsoka alone.

She examined the empty room around her. Or, at least, it was empty if one didn’t count the corpses. A little voice inside her head that sometimes sounded like Master Yoda, other times Master Windu, but often Master Plo, reproached her for her loss of control with the Geonosian. But there was another voice in her head now, a voice that didn’t belong to any being that she knew or had ever heard. That voice purred approval. Despite the heat of the planet, despite the warm cloak that enveloped her, despite the temperature-controlled bodysuit, she felt a shiver run up her spine into her headtail. Then again, perhaps the warmth of the planet and the insulation of her clothing did not matter. It wasn’t a cold shiver, but one of excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next/last chapter will be less depressing and the epilogue will make things better(? More okay?) and there will be absolute fluff and friendship. One of those may be a lie.


	11. Telos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka learns what Anakin has done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the dark side planted by your master. Do you feel it?”  
> \- Mortis
> 
> Please shout if you spot a typo in this chapter, I had cats (not mine) walking over my keyboard a few times while I was writing this.

Ahsoka stood silently beside Anakin on the observation deck that stretched the length of the building. Neither had said a word since the call to Darth Sidious, for it had been Darth Sidious that Anakin had called. The droid units of the Separatists had been shut down by Anakin’s hand. He had ended the war. But not as a Jedi, as a Sith. The Sith had ended the war. And yet, supposedly the Sith had also orchestrated the war. Ahsoka had yet to determine the purpose for that. It couldn’t have been solely for the destruction of the Jedi, and yet, the Clone Wars had been the perfect Jedi trap. But Anakin couldn’t be a Sith lord, he was the Chosen One. It had to be a trick. There had to be something that she was missing, something that made the events of the last day make sense. Perhaps Obi-Wan still held the missing piece of the puzzle, Maul. She hadn’t heard from Obi-Wan since the call in the barracks. And yet, she couldn’t picture him dead. Not by Cody’s hand. Cody, who had perhaps become more faithful to Obi-Wan than he was to the Republic and had impudently treated her as his equal on any occasion. No, she couldn’t picture that. It was just as unlikely as Rex trying to kill her or Anakin; she wouldn’t even consider the scenario.

A beeping from inside the control room caught her attention before the reason for its chime, a Naboo starship, came into view. “Padme.” Anakin muttered. As Anakin turned to make his way to the landing platform, Ahsoka’s comm went off. Anakin stopped and looked back over his shoulder to her.

“You go ahead, Master.” Ahsoka said, not that he would’ve stayed behind anyways. Once Anakin had rounded the corner, she pulled her comm up before her. The call was from Rex’s frequency and some of the fear inside her abated. “This is Ahsoka.” She said out of habit as the hologram opened in her hand. She floundered for what to say when it was Jesse who appeared. “Lieutenant, what’s wrong?”

Jesse took a deep breath and spoke in a deliberately steady manner. “Commander Rex is in critical condition, sir. He was attacked at the Temple.”

“By who?” She’d sensed that he had been hurt but hearing it from Jesse was different. The bit of fear that had diminished reared back up inside her. They had been at the Jedi Temple.

Jesse paused to take a deep breath. “I don’t know, sir. The attacker was long gone by the time I arrived. Is Lord Vader with you?”

Lord Vader. That was how Sidious had addressed him too.

“He’s… preoccupied. I’ll let him know.”

“The Separatist leaders?”

“Dead. And we shut the droids down. I guess the war is over.”

Jesse nodded, looking around furtively for a few moments. Ahsoka wondered where he was; if he was by Rex’s side at a medical center or if he was still standing in the Temple ruins. “I’ll pass that on to Rex if he-, when he wakes up.”

“Thank you, Jesse.” She forced a small smile, one that she was certain looked as fake as it felt. The clone nodded and the hologram disappeared. Once she was sure the connection had ended she pressed her hand to her forehead, fighting back the pain that was surging within her. She couldn’t bear to imagine why the 501st had been at the Jedi Temple. Not now, she couldn’t handle it now. She could grieve later. Rex would pull through, she still had Anakin and Padme, she herself was still alive. They would all be okay.

The crunch of metal broke her from her concentration. The wall of the facility behind her had crumpled in. She looked around, hoping to see someone, anyone, who she could blame for the destruction. There was nobody else. She shuddered as the new voice praised her actions, humming approval, asking how good it had felt. It was right. It had felt good. And that horrified her. She couldn’t stand to be alone anymore.

She followed the hallways she had gone down before to the main landing pad. On her entrance to the facility, they had been busy with the sound of machinery and beings. Now it was quiet, and the halls teemed with dread. When she was approaching the landing pad, Anakin and Padme’s raised voices reached her before they came into sight.

“…cost? You’re a good person. Don’t do this.

“I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother. I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of. And I’m doing it for you. To protect you.”

Ahsoka stepped into the doorway, hanging back in the shadows.

“Come away with me.” Padme stepped towards Anakin, pushing his hair away from his face fondly. “Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can.”

“Don’t you see? We don’t have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him and together, you and I can rule the galaxy, make things the way we want them to be.”

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing.” Padme’s eyes met Ahsoka’s as she stepped away from her husband. “Ahsoka, come here.”

Ahsoka made her way slowly across the landing platform to Padme, who enveloped her in a hug before turning back to Anakin, her arm still around Ahsoka. “Does Ahsoka know what you’ve done? Did you tell her what you’ve done?” When Anakin didn’t answer, she continued. “Obi-Wan was right, you’ve changed.”

Anakin’s face twisted into a rage that Ahsoka had previously only seen reserved for Separatist generals. “I don’t want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don’t you turn against me!”

“Anakin!” Ahsoka reached out to hand to her master, who pushed it away.

“Ahsoka, look what they did to you. The Jedi cast you out. They were willing to let you take the fall and wash their hands of the matter. Don’t tell me that you’ve accepted their attempt at an apology, I know that you can hardly stand to set foot in the Temple anymore. They turned against us, Ahsoka. But we made it right. We ended the war.”

“At what cost? By allying ourselves with the Sith?” Ahsoka stopped as her anger threatened to resurface. She felt as if she could bring down the entire facility if she wanted. It’s what the voice wanted.

“For now. We can reshape the galaxy, the three of us. We can bring peace to the entire galaxy, not just the Republic, make things the way they should be. Beings need to be made to see what is best for them.”

Ahsoka felt Padme shudder. “Anakin, you are going down a path I cannot follow.”

“Because of Obi-Wan? Because the lies of the Jedi have reached you too?”

“Because of what you’ve done, what you plan to do. Stop now, come back to me. We’ll disappear, leave all of this behind.”

Anakin’s gaze fixed on something above them. “Liar!”

Ahsoka and Padme turned to see Obi-Wan standing on the ramp of the ship.

“No!”

“You’re with him. You brought him here to kill me.” Anakin snarled and Ahsoka found herself stepping between Padme and her master.

“Anakin, please.” Ahsoka said. _‘Kill Obi-Wan’_ the voice in her head said.

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan began to walk down the ramp. Ahsoka grasped Padme’s arm and pulled her away.

“You will not take her from me!” Anakin screamed.

“Your anger and your lust for power have already done that. You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now- until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.”

“Obi-Wan, don’t, please don’t.” Padme begged from behind Ahsoka. Obi-Wan spared a passing glance their way then looked back to Anakin.

“Do you truly believe that Palpatine will allow you to keep them alive? He has already lost you your clone commander, will you let him take your padawan too?”

“Don’t lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do. I’ll give you one chance to walk away, Obi-Wan. Retire. The fight is over, the war is over. I’ve ended it. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new empire.”

Obi-Wan scoffed in disbelief. “Your new empire? We swore our allegiance to the Republic, to democracy, not an Empire.”

“If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy.”

“Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.”

“Anakin.” Padme begged.

Anakin spared one long look at his wife and padawan before he turned back to Obi-Wan and ignited his blade. “You will try.”

Ahsoka’s heart sunk as Obi-Wan’s blade rose to meet Anakin’s and she grasped Padme’s hand. Anakin had asked her to keep Padme safe. That had been Anakin before. The man before her now, the man fighting his closest friend, was Darth Vader. There was a difference. Anakin’s last act had been to ask Ahsoka to protect his wife before he had let himself fall to the dark side. But that wasn’t entirely true either. His last act had been to deploy the 501st one last time. Ahsoka was starting to realize where that might have been.

Once the dueling men had stepped out of sight, Ahsoka felt a tug on her arm. She followed Padme back onto her ship and took the offered seat across from her. It took some time for her to find the courage to speak. “What did Anakin do?”

“He… Obi-Wan said- he said that Anakin killed younglings. There was a security hologram.”

They fell silent again. Tears began to well in Ahsoka’s eyes as she allowed herself to acknowledge what had happened. Anakin had killed younglings, he had been at the Temple, the 501st had been at the Temple. Anakin and the 501st had killed the Jedi. Her mentor, her men, her brothers, had killed the Jedi. One family had slaughtered another. And if Rex had been injured after the initial attack and Obi-Wan had seen the security archive then there was a good chance that her closest friend would die by her grandmaster’s blade. Tears began to fall as she realized that she hated them, she hated them all. She hated Rex, who had killed her people. She hated Obi-Wan, who had murdered her men and could possibly be a traitor. And she hated Anakin, for fostering the murder of the Jedi, for falling to the dark side, for turning on everyone who loved him. Ahsoka buried her face in her hands as all the pain she had ever felt crashed in on her. She could feel Padme’s hand on her shoulders, but through the touch she could also feel Padme’s pain. She drew that pain in and made it into her own. Anakin was dead now, killed by his own blade, by his own hubris. But he had asked her to keep Padme safe. Ahsoka would keep Padme safe.

“Ahsoka.” Ahsoka lowered her palms to meet Padme’s teary gaze. “Did you know?”

“No. Did you?”

“No.” Padme’s hand left Ahsoka’s shoulder to join her wet hands. “I don’t think anybody knew.”

Ahsoka had done nothing to stop him. She was still doing nothing. In the grand scheme of the galaxy, all she had done was nothing and for nothing. Beneath the hate that festered in her she made a resolve. It would all be worth it if she could keep Padme safe. The agony within her chest, the war that was for nothing, the deaths of thousands of clones and Jedi, she could justify it all if she could save Padme and the child. She could keep them safe.

* * *

The 212th descended quietly down the Acclamator ramp. Before them marched their accompanying members of the Coruscant Guard with Maul. Nobody had spoken in hours, except to give a short instruction on the flight path of the Venator or the offloading of many of the troops onto the Acclamator. At the bottom of the ramp they were met by the newly crowned Emperor Palpatine and the commanding officer of the Coruscant Guard.

Palpatine turned to Commander Fox and waved a hand in Maul’s direction. “You have your instructions. Take him to his cell, I will deal with him personally later.”

“Sir.” Fox nodded and signaled for eight of his men to join the escort.

The Emperor turned back to the group of 212th officers before him. “Where is your commander?”

“Dead, sir. The Jedi killed him.” Crys answered quietly.

“Very well, offload your men and report to the barracks. Your legion will be needed in the coming days.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the men of the 212th departed, the Emperor turned to an approaching guardsman. “Commander Thire, report.”

“We couldn’t find the Jedi, Your Majesty, but my men are still searching. Captain Kagi reports your shuttle to be ready, sir.”

The Emperor nodded and gestured to his accompanying guardsmen who had not been summoned by Commander Fox. “Come. My apprentice is in grave danger.”

* * *

Ahsoka’s head turned as Obi-Wan walked back into the room. Padme stood up at the sight. “Is Anakin alright?”

Obi-Wan cast them a mournful look and shook his head. Ahsoka stood up and squeezed Padme’s hands before walking past Obi-Wan to the landing ramp. She stopped at the top of the ramp to give R2-D2 a last fond pat.

“Ahsoka.” Padme called after her.

“Ahsoka, this facility is falling apart. Come with us.” Obi-Wan begged.

Ahsoka looked back up to them. She had come to this decision while waiting for Obi-Wan or Anakin’s return. She hadn’t decided on what to do if Anakin had returned, but she had for Obi-Wan. Perhaps Anakin had been wrong, Obi-Wan was not a traitor. He would keep Padme safe. With Padme safe, her promise was fulfilled. Anakin needed her. “I’ll find my own way out.” She said before she descended down the landing ramp. Obi-Wan had been right. The facility was collapsing. But Anakin needed her, so she kept going. The Force was her ally, it would be her guide.

In the end, she crested a blackened hill to see two clone troopers and a hooded figure with a medical capsule between them. She ran over to them to stare into the medical capsule and nearly vomited from the sight of Anakin’s charred body. One of the clones took her by the shoulder and pulled her back. A familiar presence in the Force greeted her.

“You. You were at the landing pad.” That had been merely days ago, a lifetime. For a moment, the hot atmosphere of Mustafar became duracrete tarmac and victory hung in the air. But only for a moment.

“Yes.” The commander answered, following after the medical capsule.

Ahsoka hesitated for a moment, then followed after them. She found herself seated in the shuttle between two guardsmen, their plastoid armor radiating heat even through her bodysuit. She took notice that their boots had begun to melt, then realized that hers had as well.

“Ahsoka Tano.” The Emperor walked over to stand before her. This scene felt all too familiar. Standing before Palpatine, surrounded by the Coruscant Guard. But this time, Anakin wasn’t there to defend her. She stayed silent. “Are you loyal to your Empire?”

Ahsoka looked to the medical capsule her master now lay in, her stomach still churning at the thought of what Obi-Wan had done. She didn’t know who she was loyal to anymore. Maybe her life had turned into a game of choosing between two evils. So she chose.

“Yes.”

* * *

Ahsoka followed the medical droid to the far corner of the room. She was wondering if Rex was even here when the droid stopped and gestured towards a bed. She hesitantly thanked the droid and moved to Rex’s side. She’d have never known it was him if it weren’t for the droid. Most of his face was covered by a breathing apparatus with several tubes snaking out to a nearby machine. She recognized the crisscross of fabric that stretched from his hip to his shoulder as bacta patches and wondered if his condition was stable or if the facility was running out of medical supplies.

She sat on the small stool by the bed and took his hand in hers. She’d rarely held the clone’s hands, mainly doing so when they were dying. She hoped Rex wasn’t dying. Then she started to cry. She lay her head down on the medical bed next to Rex and sobbed into the fabric.

She sat up when she heard a coughing-choke and gripped Rex’s hand tighter. She watched anxiously as he struggled against the breathing tube for a few moments before starting to relax into it. She tentatively reached out with her other hand and cupped his face, stroking the soft flesh under his jaw with her fingers. She could feel his heartbeat through the skin, and it calmed her panic. He was alive. He relaxed further into her hand and she watched as his heartbeat returned to normal on the monitor.

“Hey Rexter.” She smiled as he weakly squeezed her hand in response. She should’ve still been mad at him. Right now, she should be furious that he had attacked her home, killed her people. She had been on the flight back to Coruscant, until she’d walked into the 501st barracks. She’d never seen her men look so broken before. Many of them had been crying, some still were. Others were staring blankly at the wall, which she found to be far worse. None of them could look her in the eye. And now, she had never seen Rex look so haunted, even under the sedatives. She was glad that he couldn’t speak, couldn’t tell her what he had done.

She found her hand leaving his and running lightly over the bacta patches across his torso. She hadn’t often seen lightsaber marks on living beings, certainly not this close and not on the clones. There were marks from a surgery outside of the patches, and she wondered how many millimeters Rex had been from death. The medical droid probably knew. She didn’t want to know which Jedi had done this. It still horrified her to think that the Jedi were traitors, but yet, Jedi had nearly taken her closest friends from her. It was hard to reconcile the peacekeeper image of the Jedi with the medical equipment surrounding Rex and likely surrounding her master as well. It was hard to reconcile the peacekeeper image with Anakin’s charred body.

“Anakin’s alive. He’s terribly injured, but Emperor Palpatine said that he’s going to live.” She brought her hand back to wipe tears from her eyes. “I don’t know what comes next, but we’re all going to make it. I promise.” She felt the muscles in Rex’s neck twitch and his brows contorted in pain as his throat contracted against the tube. She began stroking his neck until his muscles had once again relaxed. “Don’t, you can tell me everything later.” She brought her hand back to his and lifted it to her lips for a light kiss. “I won’t leave you again.”

She sat by him for a long time, examining the little scars that cut through his hand and forearm. Smattering from bomb shrapnel, a scar across a knuckle from a blaster bolt, the thin line across his thumb from when he had once caught her and cut himself on her akul-tooth headdress. Sometimes he watched her, other times his eyes were far away. When they were too far, she’d stroke his palm until his attention turned back to her and she’d give him a sad smile.

It was his turn to stroke her hand when a new medical droid came over with news of Anakin, and he let her lay her head on his shoulder and cry when the droid had walked away.


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins–but in the heart of its strength lies weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back.”  
> \- Revenge of the Sith novelization

The sound of rumbling water filled the hallways of the _Executor_ as the bacta tank began to drain. The various stormtroopers and officers walking through the halls payed it no attention.

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith, listened as the seal in his helmet repressurized and the machine arms rose back up to the ceiling of the chamber. He rose slowly and strode to the adjacent room where his most loyal personnel awaited him around a briefing table.

“Lord Vader.” A commander, newly promoted and eager to prove himself to the Sith, was the only one to speak. The rest of the men and women in the room merely saluted. Vader acknowledged them with a nod and move to stand between two identical men, one in stormtrooper armor, the other in the grey uniform of an Imperial officer. One by one, the officers in the room gave their reports and took their leave until only Vader and the two men remained.

“Captain Jesse.” Vader turned slightly towards the man on his left. The Republic symbol that had once stretched across the man’s head was gone, and the stormtrooper armor shone a bland white, but he was still unmistakably a clone.

“Sir, the 501st has two new recruits that I believe you should keep an eye on. We’re still breaking them in, but give me and Commander Appo a few months with them and I believe that they will be a valuable addition to the First Legion, sir.”

Vader nodded. “And Kashyyyk?”

“Not an issue, sir. The 501st and the 212th have the planet nearly under control. It will be ours within the week.”

Vader turned to his right. “Your thoughts, Marshal Commander?”

“Very good, sir. The First Legion will always be willing to accept recruits from the 501st.”

Vader nodded, and dismissed Jesse. Once the door had shut for the last time Vader turned fully to face to his commander. “And the Purge Trooper program?”

“The Grand Inquisitor said that the program is taking off. Despite the worries of the Kaminoans, the last clones are scoring just as well as the rest of us did at their training stage.”

“I want you to take their command. There’s no one I trust more to get these men to where they need to be. You will answer to myself, and to the Grand Inquisitor alone.”

The commander didn’t let his surprise show. “Yes, sir.”

* * *

The Grand Inquisitor watched the shuttle land with barely contained glee. It had only taken a year. The ramp lowered, and a single officer exited the shuttle. The togruta met the clone halfway across the landing pad.

“Grand Inquisitor.” The officer stopped and saluted, the Grand Inquisitor mirroring the motion.

“Marshal Commander.” How the title rolled off her lips. “It’s been far too long. Come, we have much to discuss.” The Grand Inquisitor gestured towards the Fortress, and they set off away from the shuttle.

“Some things never change,” The officer’s eyes took note of their distance from the other beings on the platform, “Ahsoka.”

The Grand Inquisitor smiled, also taking note of their isolation. “Rex. How are you healing?”

“Well, I can move my fingers again. But return to active duty is out of the question. The nerve damage is irreversible.”

“And you don’t have any qualms about what we’re doing here?”

“No.” Not after the months spent in therapy, the weekly bacta treatments, the scorching pain that still woke him from sleep. “Do you?”

“Not anymore.” They stepped into a turbolift and began the ascent to the upper levels of the tower. “I have come to terms with the fact that I served a corrupt Order, and now I will pay my penance by destroying what remains of it.” Ahsoka tilted her head towards Rex, yellow eyes gleaming. “It’s been freeing.”

* * *

Vader watched the security footage from Fortress Inquisitorius with satisfaction. The way that the Purge Troopers' posture had stiffened upon the arrival of the renowned Commander Rex, the genuine smile on his former apprentice’s face, his commander’s relaxed stance. It was a good start.

One year ago, Chancellor Palpatine had promised him a different future. A future that Vader now suspected could have never been fulfilled. And would never be. Padme was dead. His child was dead. Anakin Skywalker was dead. But Darth Vader was alive. Vader was alive, and in control of the galaxy’s last remaining clone troopers and former Jedi. He had the loyalty of the clones of the 501st and 212th legions, he had the First Legion, composed of the best of the two legions he and his former master had once led, and he had a plan. The Emperor would pay for his deception. Vader would make him pay. And the game was set. It was now up to him to decide when the first domino would fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story and for those who came back week after week while it was being posted! This is the longest thing I’ve ever written and challenging myself felt so good.
> 
> (In my mind, Padme lived)


	13. The War Is Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Palpatine wasn’t the Sith Lord? An alternate ending.

Rex laughed at the hologram in his hand. “I’d hate for you to miss out on the celebration. I know you love the dress greys.”

“Mhm. They really bring out the bags under my eyes. Maybe after the formal dinner we could go get absolutely pissed at Seventy-Nine’s. You, me, Wolffe, Echo, Ahsoka, whoever else wants to join us.”

“Commander Tano is seventeen, Cody. That’s underage.” Though she’d soon be eighteen and drinking age in most systems, Rex still thought of her as the same brash fourteen-year-old he had met on Christophsis when it came to anything but combat.

“Four years older than we are. You can’t protect her forever, Rex. If she can fight in a war and die for the Republic, she can have a drink. Though, with the amount you lot drink, she may swear alcohol off entirely.”

“I’ll make sure Jesse is there if that’s our goal.”

Cody grinned and looked around the medical bay before turning back to Rex conspiratorially. “Do you really think we’re going to win?”

“General Skywalker thinks so. Why not?” Rex couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Count Dooku is dead, General Grievous is dead, you’ve captured Maul. We may have just won the Clone Wars.”

“Isn’t that something.” A new message chirped on Cody’s comm, and he stopped to glance at it. “I’m needed on the bridge, Rex.”

“Well, duty calls.”

“I’ll see you on the other side of the war.”

“See you on the other side of the war. Take care of yourself, Cody.”

* * *

The war was over.

Ahsoka stood before the mirror in her room, running the strand of beads that had served as her padawan braid between her fingers before setting it off to the side and returning her focus to her reflection. She was a Jedi, vanity had no place in her mind, but she couldn’t help but admire the ornate patterns lining her new white robes. Barriss had chosen the design with her, and Master Ti had helped the young women incorporate it in a traditional togrutan manner. Master Windu had, of all beings, been the one to help them sew the fabric on in straight lines.

The war was over.

Rex tugged on the collar of the new service dress whites. He hated the constrictions the fabric imposed on him.

“You’ll break the clasp if you keep doing that.” Cody, always the older brother figure, leaned over and straightened Rex’s collar before moving to straighten the colored shoulder pads they had been given. Rex let Cody have his moment. He had bounced back from his injuries, cleaned himself up, then spent the past week overseeing Darth Maul’s interrogation. He deserved to do what he wanted for a bit. Or at least, that was how Rex justified it. Cody still did outrank him, as evidenced by the extra ribbons and decor his uniform bore.

“Maybe I wanted to break the clasp.” Rex whispered as Cody straightened back up in his seat. “Get out of this awful dinner.”

“Now, now, Rex. Play along for the senators. This is _their_ moment after all.” Wolffe chided from Cody’s other side.

The war was over.

* * *

Ahsoka met the group of clones outside of the Senate, bounding over as soon as they were in sight. “Notice anything different?” She asked, twirling around.

“You have a back to your shirt?” Fives offered.

“No, no. She fixed the holes in her leggings.” Tup corrected.

“You changed your hair.” Echo said.

Ahsoka laughed and turned to Rex. “Any other observations?”

“No, I believe they covered it.” Rex smirked and lay an arm around Ahsoka’s shoulders. “Congratulations, Jedi Knight Tano.”

“Will all due respect, Commander Cody, does this mean that she officially outrank you?” Jesse asked.

“No. No I’m still taller.” Cody glanced over at Kix. “That’s how it works right?”

“Absolutely.” Kix confirmed. “Until the tips of her montrals pass your height next week, you’re in charge.”

Rex made a sound of indignation. “You’re saying that like she’s going to grow up.”

“Rex, I went with you to the Citadel, I’ve faced off against Sith lords and you’re worried about me growing up?” Ahsoka hoped that the men wouldn’t notice how her eyes were getting misty.

“Of course I am, kid. You’re only, what, fourteen?” He teased.

“Absolutely, Rex. I’m the youngest Jedi Knight in the history of the Order.” She squinted up her eyes and nose and shook her head at him.

“That’s cause for celebration then!” Cody threw an arm around Wolffe and Echo and leaned slightly forward towards her. “As your commanding officer until this time next week when your montrals surpass me, would you like to join us at Seventy-Nine’s?”

“Cody!” Wolffe protested.

“General Plo doesn’t need to know.” Cody assured him. “Are you in, Ahsoka?”

Ahsoka glanced around at the men surrounding her. Rex and Wolffe were wearing looks of indignation. Jesse looked surprised. The Domino Twins and their adopted triplet were biting back laughter. Kix seemed unphased. Cody looked steady in his proposition.

“I’m in.”

Obi-Wan was going to be so mad when he found out about this.

* * *

The eight clones and one togruta crammed onto the two benches around the corner table. Ahsoka found herself squished between Wolffe and Echo. The situation would have been uncomfortable in armor, but without it was not unlike crowding into a gunship during an evacuation. Not the most convenient spot to find yourself in, but still very enjoyable at the heart of it.

“Fives and Kix are taking orders, what do you want, General Tano?” Echo asked, tossing his head towards the men, who were sitting at the ends of each bench.

Ahsoka bit her lip. “I don’t know, I don’t know what they have.”

Fives pointed a finger in her direction. “I got you.”

Ahsoka tried to commit everyone’s orders to memory as she looked around at the interior of the club. She wanted to connect the drink’s appearances to their names when Fives returned. She listened to the conversations around her as she continued to sweep the room. Wolffe on her left was talking to Cody, who was sitting directly across from him and was just as squished into the wall as he was. Beside Cody was Rex, who was politely listening to Echo’s recount of the Citadel to Jesse and Tup, who had brought it up in the first place.

“I did not trip when we unfroze, your liar.” Fives insisted as he and Kix returned with two trays of drinks.

“Oh yes, you did.” Ahsoka grinned. “I saw you when Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker were arguing.”

“I should have gotten you a soda.” Fives scoffed, passing her a drink.

She took it and looked suspiciously at the brown liquid. “What is this?”

Fives shrugged and sat back down next to Tup. “A drink.”

Ahsoka took a small sip, then a larger one. “Just whiskey?

Rex nearly choked. “Excuse me?”

“What, you think I’ve never had a drink before?”

“Actually, yes. Where have you had whiskey before? Not from General Skywalker.”

“No, not from Anakin.” She agreed and glanced over towards Cody.

“Cody.” Rex turned as much as he could on the crammed bench to berate his brother while Ahsoka turned her gaze over to the men on her right. Echo raised his glass and nodded at her. She caught a glimpse of Tup’s wide eyes behind him, though her attention was quickly drawn back across the table to Kix biting his hand to muffle his laughter from Rex. Ahsoka could feel Wolffe’s arm shaking from similarly repressed laughter as Cody tried to defend himself from Rex’s accusations.

Eventually, Cody was vindicated and Jesse and Tup brought another round. Ahsoka accepted the fruity drink Tup had chosen for her as her last one and stuck with it for subsequent rounds. Kix’s mid-drink lecture on clone and togruta metabolism solidified her stance, along with Wolffe’s attempt to parent her in the generals’ absence.

In the end, she found herself stumbling out of Seventy-Nine’s with Jesse draped half over her shoulders and half over Kix’s. Once they were in a less populated stretch of road Rex came up to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her up, taking some of Jesse’s weight off her.

“Ahsoka. I don’t know what comes next, but I want you to know that I’m proud of you, kid.” Rex smiled down at her.

She beamed back up at him. “That means a lot to me, Rex. It’s been an honor to serve with you.”

“It’s a pity you only served in the third best legion in the GAR.” Cody shouted from behind them. “Your battalion is the reason General Kenobi is going grey.”

“At least I’ve never threatened to tie General Skywalker’s lightsaber to his wrist.” Rex shot back.

“Only because you have the astromech to retrieve it.”

“Look.” Echo cut in. “You can diss the general all you want, but leave Artoo out of it.”

“Even Wolffe likes Artoo-detoo.” Fives nodded his head in agreement.

“I said I can tolerate it.” Wolffe responded.

“Him, Commander. Artoo has masculine programming.” Tup spoke up.

“Yeah, it’s what really brings us all together.” Kix agreed.

Ahsoka couldn’t help the laughter that spilled from her lips. Maybe being a little tipsy, she wouldn’t dare say she was drunk, had something to do with it. Maybe it was just the stress of the past three years being lifted off her shoulders. They’d all made it. The Separatists had surrendered and with their surrender Chancellor Palpatine had stepped down and opened the floor in search for his successor. Supposedly, he was going to retire by the lakes of Naboo. She wondered if he and Padme were to one day be neighbors.

They managed to get back to the barracks in one piece and Ahsoka soon found herself in Rex’s room along with Cody and Wolffe and a large pitcher of water.

“No hangovers.” Wolffe emphasized as he poured Ahsoka a generous cup of water.

“And that’s the reason why the five-oh-first is only the third best legion.” Cody said as he tapped his glass against Ahsoka’s. “You’d have a shot at perhaps being number two if you weren’t so dehydrated.”

“With you as the number one?” Rex scoffed.

“Oh no, the three hundred twenty-seventh corps.” Cody shook his head at Rex. “Gotta support my batchmates.”

“And who is the second?” Ahsoka asked. She had never seen these men this calm before. Some of it was the alcohol, but most of it was the weight of the war lifting from their shoulders.

“Forty-first corps, of course.” Wolffe answered.

“I’ll make sure to pass that on to Barriss.” She laughed.

“So, where do you two lie on this scale?” Rex asked, sitting down and propping his feet up on his bed.

“We’re too good to be measured by a single-factor scale such as this one.” Wolffe waved his hand dismissively. “It’s like if you were trying to pick your favorite ARC trooper.”

“It’s Echo.” Ahsoka cut in. “Fives and Jesse have their moments, but it’s usually Echo. Deny it.”

Rex shook his head. “I am to be an impartial captain over all of my men.”

“That means yes.” Cody smirked.

A comm chirped, and the four beings scrambled for their comms. It was Cody who had the pleasure of the summons.

“Obi-Wan.” Cody casually answered.

“Cody.” Obi-Wan’s crisp voice came through the comm. “I don’t suppose you’ve kidnapped Ahsoka, have you?”

"Rex and I took her down to Dex’s this evening. Is there a problem with that?”

“That depends on what state she’s in when Anakin arrives at the barracks in five minutes.”

“Ah, thank you, sir.” Cody turned the comm off and topped up Ahsoka’s water glass. “With all due respect, Ahsoka, do you own any makeup? Your tails are flushed.”

Ahsoka sighed. “No, I don’t.”

Wolffe gulped down the rest of his water and set the glass on Rex’s desk. “It’s been a wonderful evening, but I’d rather not dirty my reputation with the likes of you when General Skywalker arrives.”

“Oh, get out.” Rex laughed as Cody gave his batchmate a shove out the door.

“So, who’s taking the fall for this one?” Ahsoka asked.

“I believe that the great Marshall Commander Cody should, considering that it was his plan.” Rex said.

“I agree, especially since he’s still in charge, right, Rex?”

“That’s right.”

“You two are horrible.” Cody laughed.

When Anakin Skywalker arrived in the barracks, it was to find his and Obi-Wan’s right hand men and his former padawan asleep on the common room couches. And if he saw the flush of their cheeks, or lekku, if he saw the way their eyelids twitched when he walked closer, and if he saw the slight shaking of Ahsoka’s chest as he walked away, he never told them. He thought it better to let them get away with a few things here and there rather than train three good liars. With a smirk, Anakin lowered himself onto the fourth couch and let himself fall into sleep amongst his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I wasn’t lying about the fluff and friendship. My fix-it ending for all those who held on for the past few weeks. Thank you all again for reading this story and all of the love you’ve shown me in this time! You all deserve the happy ending.


End file.
